York Historic Environment Record

A settlement at what is now Rufforth existed from Saxon times. An entry in the Domesday Book deals with the land ownership in Norman times. Modern names such as Southfield, Lowfield and Noddery’s (North) Field are derived from the medieval field system. In the 18th century a large area to the east of Rufforth became part of the Harewood Estate, hence the name Harewood Whin for the Yorwaste refuse disposal site. Also in the 18th century two “cuts” or wide ditches, the Old and the New, drained Rufforth Ings to the west and brought more land into cultivation. The Enclosures Acts Awards of 1795 apportioned land among the villagers giving Rufforth its modern form. The Act also awarded the village pond to be used as a watering place and the sand pit to be used for the upkeep of highways. Owners of the allotted lands were requested to preserve and maintain the specific ancient pathways passing through their land, these paths being there before the farmsteads.