York Historic Environment Record

Strensall Conservation Area was originally designated in 1979, and included The
Village (and Main Street) and Church Lane which make up the linear street character
of the historic village. In November 2001 following public consultation the
Conservation Area was extended to the north and north-west from Bone Dike (to the
rear of Netherwood) including Strensall Bridge and the riverside pastureland and
paddocks to Strensall New Bridge, both these bridges are Listed structures, and to
the west following West End to include No.34 and then to the south which is a mixture
of Edwardian properties and more recent housing as far as No. 25 Princess Road.

History

The name Strensall may have originated from “Streonaeshalch”. “Streona”, an
ancient personal name and “halch” being Anglo Saxon for a corner or nook of land. At
The Doomsday Survey (1066) Strensall was listed as being among the estates of the
Archbishop of York, Prebendaries of Strensall are recorded from the 12th Century
onwards. A typical medieval pattern developed with the narrow fronted plots of land
extending back from the street frontage. Interestingly, Strensall Common remained an
open common, after other such areas were enclosed in the 18th Century.
Subsequently its acquisition as a military training ground in the late 19th Century was,
of course, to influence the future of the Strensall area. Strensall remained basically an
agricultural village until well into the 20th Century, though it also had a brick and tile
works, and the Tannery.

Important Buildings

St Mary’s Church (1865-6) was designed by JB and W Atkinson and built in
sandstone and roofed in Westmoreland slate. The Manor House Farmhouse is built
upon an ancient moated site; the present building being late 17th Century in origin,
substantially altered in the 18th Century and 20th Century. These buildings and the 18th
Century house of 59 The Village and 3 Church Lane are listed. The Methodist Church
of 1895 was built upon the site of the village pinfold.

Character

Strensall is a typical linear street village. Indeed, before the narrow lane (Duck Lane)
was widened to create the main entry from York, Church Lane and The Village would
have looked more like one continuous street than they do today.
The Village has an attractive and informal mixture of well proportioned 18th Century
and 19th Century detached houses and vernacular cottages. A sense of unity arises
from their shared scale, height (2 storey) and use of traditional materials – mostly
pinkish-brown brickwork with pantile or Welsh slate roofing. Buildings are positioned
at slightly varying distances and angles to the street frontage, some gable end on to
the street and most traditionally with small fronted gardens enclosed by walls, railings
or hedges.

The east section of the Village is rather more intimate because the street curves and
undulates gently, with subtle variations in carriageway width and some buildings
huddling closer to the street frontage. Trees and hedges add to the feeling of
enclosure and ‘protection’, with St Mary’s Church spire beckoning ahead. West of
Sherriff Hutton Road, The Village is more formal and straight, though building
frontages are still grouped informally. Unfortunately several open forecourts have
been created along this section, together with unsympathetic elevation alterations and
some recent infill of neutral character. However, the street maintains a sense of
continuity between the areas of more traditional village character.
Many traditional side lanes and yards survive along the Village, a legacy of the
medieval street pattern. Adjoining the River Foss, Strensall has retained its traditional
outer edge: an interesting haphazard arrangement of boundary walls, outbuildings and
small irregularly-shaped fields.

The line of Church Lane is important historically, though ’suburbanisation’ of its
character has resulted from inappropriate infill development. The redeeming features
of the sudden view of open landscape beyond St Mary’s Churchyard trees, the
contrast of the small scale enclaves of buildings going through to Church View, retain
a valuable rural quality. Trees are also important to the setting of The Manor House.

The Main elements of the character and appearance of the are ;
(1) The linear street village character, arising from the combination of buildings,
front boundaries, trees and the line of the street.
(2) The survival, in places , of the traditional outer edges of the village form, its
side lanes with vernacular farm buildings, and the relationship with the open
countryside at St Mary’s Churchyard.

2015, Strensall and Towthorpe Village Design Statement (Unpublished document). SYO1730.