Flaxton is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

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 ...

district of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. It is close to the A64 between

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and Malton. The village lies entirely within a Conservation Area as defined by Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas Act) 1990.

History

The village is mentioned in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' as ''Flaxtune'' in the ''Bulford'' hundred. At that time it was part of the manor of ''Foston'' and was in the possession of Earl Morcar, but passed to

Count Alan of Brittany Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus (Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...

by 1086. The etymology of the name is taken from Old English meaning ''settlement where flax is made''. In 1807 a lead box containing around 300 Saxon silver coins was discovered in a field near the village. Flaxton was served by Flaxton railway station on the

York to Scarborough Line York is a cathedral city Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom. Cathedral city may also refer to: * Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States * Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Cheddar ch ...

between 1845 and 1930.

Governance

The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton (UK Parliament constituency). It is also within the

Hovingham Hovingham is a large village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the edge of the Howardian Hills and about south of Kirkbymoorside. History The name 'Hovingham' is first attested in the Domesday Boo ...

Sheriff Hutton Sheriff Hutton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies about north by north-east of York. History The village is mentioned twice in the Domesday Book of 1086, as ''Hotun'' in the Bulford hund ...

electoral division of North Yorkshire County Council and the Sheriff Hutton ward of Ryedale District Council.

Geography

The nearest settlements to the village are

Claxton Claxton may refer to: Places *Claxton, County Durham, England *Claxton, Norfolk, England *Claxton, North Yorkshire, England *Claxton, Georgia, USA ** the Claxton meteorite of 1984, which fell in Georgia, United States (see meteorite falls) * Claxto ...

to the south; West Lilling to the north-west; Harton to the east and

Thornton-le-Clay Thornton-le-Clay is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about north-east of York. History The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday book'' as ''Torentune'' in the ''Bulford'' hundred. There a ...

to the north-east. The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 366. According to the 2001 UK Census, the village had a population of 331, of which 255 were over the age of sixteen. Of these, 168 were in employment. There were 138 dwellings, of which 86 were detached. The 2011 Census showed a population of 343. The village areas around Flaxton Village Green and the Crofts are designated Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). Here can be found semi-improved and unimproved neutral grassland, as well as wet grassland on the Keld with three ponds that include two

great crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

breeding sites. It has one pub, the Thompson Arms Inn, and a B&B, the Blacksmiths Arms.

Education

Parish Council Meeting Rooms, Flaxton, North Yorkshire

In 1867 a Church of England school was built in the village. It was built by Thomas Abbey of Claxton on land donated by Thomas Richard Smith and paid for with money raised by the Rector and parishioners. The clock is by

Potts of Leeds Potts of Leeds was a major British manufacturer of public clocks, based in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. History William Potts was born in December 1809 and was apprenticed to Samuel Thompson, a Darlington clockmaker. In 1833, at the age of 24, ...

and dates to the end of the 19th-century. The school closed in 1987 and was listed as a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building in 2011 as an unusual surviving example of school for poorer children which pre-dates the 1870 Education Act. The village is now within the education catchment areas of

Sand Hutton Sand Hutton is a village and civil parish which forms the larger part of the Claxton and Sand Hutton grouped parish council, in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about north-east of York. History The village is mentioned in t ...

primary school and

Huntington School, York Huntington School is a coeducational, comprehensive secondary school situated in Huntington, York, England, with approximately 1,500 pupils. History The school opened in September 1966 and became a comprehensive school in September 1973. ...

Religion

St Lawrence Church Flaxton 2 (Nigel Coates)

The village has a church dedicated to St Lawrence, which was built in 1853 in the 13th-century Gothic style and replaced an earlier chapel. The church was declared a rectory in 1867 before which time it had been a perpetual curacy. The

lychgate A lychgate, also spelled lichgate, lycugate, lyke-gate or as two separate words lych gate, (from Old English ''lic'', corpse), also ''wych gate'', is a gateway covered with a roof found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style ch ...

was erected as a memorial after the First World War.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in North Yorkshire Civil parishes in North Yorkshire