Clifton Without is a suburb and civil parish in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

area of the

City of York The City of York is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

, England. It consists of those parts of

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...

that lie outside, i.e. Without, the (pre-1996) city boundaries and Clifton Moor. It lies on the A19 about two miles north-west of central York. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,113, increasing to 5,246 at the 2011 Census. Before 1996 it formed part of the Ryedale district. The Parish is bounded by the River Ouse to the west and the B1363 road and

River Foss The River Foss is in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Ouse. It rises in the Foss Crooks Woods near Oulston Reservoir close to the village of Yearsley and runs south through the Vale of York to the Ouse in the centre of ...

in the east, and from the Clifton Moor retail park in the north to near Clifton Green in the south. The parish contains a diverse mix of industrial and retail areas, to residential areas in the rest of the parish. The area also includes the natural areas of Clifton Ings and Clifton Backies and Rawcliffe Lake.

History

On 27 May 1933 an air circus visited York and flew from Rawcliffe meadow, now the site of Clifton Moor Retail Park. It demonstrated the viability of the area for a commercial airfield for York. In 1934 York Corporation compulsory purchased parts of Clifton (Without) and Rawcilffe and on, 4 July 1936 York Municipal Aerodrome opened. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the airfield was managed by Yorkshire Air Services and Country Club Ltd, who ran a flying club and an air taxi service, but no scheduled flights. On 1 September 1939 the airfield was requisitioned by the government for military use and was renamed RAF Clifton. It was host to a flight of Whitley Bombers. Following an upgrade in status, the airfield became host to reconnaissance aircraft such as the

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

and the

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

. The airfield also contained a large civilian staffed repair facility for the

Halifax bomber The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its ori ...

. The repair centre was closed in 1948, after which the airfield returned to its former role as a flying club. Due to the high rents charged by the Air Ministry, which had not de-commissioned the site, the club closed in the 1950s and fell into disuse. Parts of the airfield can still be seen around the area, including a small portion of the runway to the north of the York Outer Ring Road. The airfield is now covered by the Clifton Moor Retail Park. The village was historically part of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as a ...

until 1974. It was then a part of the district of

Ryedale Ryedale is a non-metropolitan district in North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Vale of Pickering, a low-lying flat area of land drained by the River Derwent. The Vale's landscape is rural with scattered villages and towns. It has been inha ...

from 1974 until 1996. Since 1996 it has been part of the City of York unitary authority.

Governance

Clifton Without is part of the Rawcliffe and Clifton Without Ward in the City of York. As of 2019 the Ward is represented by Councillors Darryl Smalley, Derek Wann and Sam Waudby, all from the local Liberal Democrats. It is also has its own parish council consisting of 10 councillors.

Geography

The parish is bounded to the west by the River Ouse and the B1363 and

to the east. To the north the parish meets the parish of Rawcliffe. To the south the boundary runs past Homestead Park from the Ouse then northward along the A19 to turn east along Brompton Road, then it turns north up Water Lane before going east again along Lilbourne Drive and then following the waterway known as Bur Dyke. Where Bur Dyke reaches Bootham Stray it extends an arm towards the Nestle Factory they and ends at the River Foss. The parish contains Clifton Backies Nature Reserve which, in 2002, was designated as a local nature reserve. The diverse habitats support many different species of mammal, bird, insect and plant life. It was part of the former Clifton Airfield but after its last use in the Berlin Airlift in the late 1940s, it was allowed to return to nature. The land originally belonged to St Mary's Abbey, but after the dissolution of the monasteries the land was part of a furlong or field known as 'Moor Broats' and cultivated under the strip farming system in medieval times. The current ridge and furrow appearance of the fields shows its previous history. The meadows are home to short-tailed vole, with the Bur Dyke home for water voles,

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodi ...

common shrew The common shrew (''Sorex araneus''), also known as the Eurasian shrew, is the most common shrew, and one of the most common mammals, throughout Northern Europe, including Great Britain, but excluding Ireland. It is long and weighs , and has v ...

hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction ...

bank vole The bank vole (''Myodes glareolus'') is a small vole with red-brown fur and some grey patches, with a tail about half as long as its body. A rodent, it lives in woodland areas and is around in length. The bank vole is found in much of Europe an ...

wood mouse The wood mouse (''Apodemus sylvaticus'') is a murid rodent native to Europe and northwestern Africa. It is closely related to the yellow-necked mouse (''Apodemus flavicollis'') but differs in that it has no band of yellow fur around the neck, h ...

and

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

have been seen on the site. Bats can also be seen over the meadows. Suitable breeding habitats for the common frog and smooth newt are provided by seasonal ponds. The Bur Dyke supports a population of

three-spined stickleback The three-spined stickleback (''Gasterosteus aculeatus'') is a fish native to most inland and coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its ra ...

. Birds that frequent the area include blackbird,

blue tit The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, a ...

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of North Af ...

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...

dunnock The dunnock (''Prunella modularis'') is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is by far the most widespread member of t ...

, robin,

common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in ...

bullfinch Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus ''Pyrrhula''. These birds are restricted to the Old World, an ...

blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...

, whitethroat,

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly ...

fieldfare The fieldfare (''Turdus pilaris'') is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It ...

redwing The redwing (''Turdus iliacus'') is a bird in the thrush family, Turdidae, native to Europe and the Palearctic, slightly smaller than the related song thrush. Taxonomy and systematics This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 17 ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

and chiffchaff. A recent survey identified 22 species of butterfly on the site, including speckled wood,

holly blue The holly blue (''Celastrina argiolus'') Retrieved April 20, 2018. is a butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family and is native to the Palearctic. The holly blue has pale silver-blue wings spotted with pale ivory dots. Seitz desc ...

small copper ''Lycaena phlaeas'', the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family. According to Guppy and Shepard (2001), its specific name ''phlaeas'' is said to be derived eithe ...

, brown argus and marbled white. Amongst the flora in the area are many species of wildflowers and grasses, including dog's tail,

knapweed ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding re ...

red clover ''Trifolium pratense'', the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions. Description Red clov ...

great burnet ''Sanguisorba officinalis'', commonly known as great burnet, is a plant in the family Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. It is native throughout the cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America. It ...

, pignut, with such waterside plants as

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf ve ...

and water forget-me-not.

Economy

The parish includes the Clifton Moor Retail and Industrial Park where there are many nationwide and local stores, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as entertainment venues.

Transport

Due to the A19 and Clifton Retail Park being within the Parish boundary, Clifton Without is served by many bus routes.

Education

Primary education is catered for by the Clifton with Rawcliffe Federation. This is a partnership of the Rawcliffe Infant and Nursery School on Eastholme Drive in nearby Rawcliffe, where pupils up to Year 2 are taught prior to going to Clifton with Rawcliffe Junior School on Rawcliffe Lane. Secondary Education is provided at

Vale of York Academy Vale of York Academy previously called Canon Lee School is a co-educational secondary school located in Clifton, York, England. History Canon Lee was built in Clifton to serve the north-west suburbs of Rawcliffe, Clifton and Skelton. The doo ...

, located on the same site as Clifton with Rawcliffe Junior School on Rawcliffe Lane. This school has been designated a specialist arts college. The school was opened in April 1941 and is an 11-16 comprehensive with catchment from the city centre to the village of Skelton.

Religious sites

Clifton Moor Church opened in September 1998, and is a partnership of two churches. It has links to both the Church of England and the Methodist Church. York Council gave the land, and the local Church raised the money to pay for the building.

Sports

York Sports Club is located in the south of the parish on the A19 near Clifton Ings. It provides facilities for four sports club; York Cricket Club; York Rugby Union Football Club; York Squash Club and York Tennis Club. York Cricket Club has been in existence for over 200 years. It first played matches on the Knavesmire in 1790 before moving to the site of the York District Hospital on Wigginton Road. It moved to its present site upon purchase of land from the Clifton Hospital in 1967. York Cricket Club was a founding member of the Yorkshire Cricket League in 1935, which it has won on 10 occasions. It also won the National Knockout Cup in 1975. As of 2010 it has five senior men’s teams, nine junior teams, ranging from U9s to U17s, and one ladies’ team. York RUFC moved to its present location a t the same time as the Cricket Club. It fields four senior sides as well as juniors, seniors and veterans. They have won the Yorkshire Shield three times. The 1st XV play in the Yorkshire 1 league, the 2nd XV play in the Yorkshire 2nd XV Merit League Division 1 and the 3rd XV play in the North Yorkshire Merit Table. The 4th XV are a social side and play friendlies. York Squash Club has eight men's teams and two ladies teams in the York and District League. As of 2010 York Men's 1st, 2nd and 3rd all play in Division 1. York Men's 4th and 5th play in Division 3, York Men's 6th in Division 4 and the Men's 7th and 8th in Division 5. York Tennis Club was formed in 1966 following the merger of Clifton and Tanh Hall clubs, who were both facing eviction from their grounds. The club run 16 teams in both local and county leagues. Facilities include six carpet based courts with some floodlit courts and shale courts. The club have one Ladies and one Men's team in the Yorkshire League Doubles competition. One men's team plays in both singles and doubles competitions in the National League. They have six mixed doubles teams in the York & District Mixed Doubles League and four teams in the Men's Local Doubles League with 2 Ladies teams in the Ladies Local Doubles League.

Gallery

References

{{reflist, 2 Villages and areas in the City of York Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Local Nature Reserves in North Yorkshire