Hensall is a 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

History

Hensall can trace its roots back at least as far as the 1086

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, in which it is listed as Edeshale. The name of Edeshale is said to derive from Aedan's, or Edan's, Nook of land. The largest building in the village is the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

St Paul's Church, Hensall, which was commissioned by the

Viscount Downe Viscount Downe is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1675 for William Ducie. However, the title became extinct on his death in 1679. The second creation came in 1680 for John Dawnay. He h ...

in 1843, and is now

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, as is its former vicarage, The Red House. For most of its history the people of Hensall were employed in agricultural industries, with some cottage industries also present. Today the village is largely a

dormitory settlement A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

, with inhabitants commuting to nearby towns and cities for work; however, there are a number of

light industries Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced fo ...

based in Hensall.

Geography

Location

The village of Hensall is located just south of the

River Aire The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England, in length. Part of the river below Leeds is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation. The ''Handbook for Leeds and Airedale'' (1890) notes that the distance from Malha ...

, and lies in an area known as the

Humberhead Levels The Humberhead Levels is a national character area covering a large expanse of flat, low-lying land towards the western end of the Humber estuary in northern England. The levels occupy the former Glacial Lake Humber, an area bounded to the eas ...

. The Levels cover a large area, and are characterised by flat, low-lying land, formed at the end on the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. Due to its proximity to a river, and the flat land it occupies, Hensall has long been suited to

arable farming Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

. Having once been home to several farms only a few remain in the village today, and though some

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

is kept, crops are the main agricultural output. Hensall lies on rich

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

deposits, which have in the past been

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

. As a result of the quarrying a number of former quarries puncture the otherwise flat landscape. In recent years these have become important habitats for wildlife, and are home to species such as

sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing ...

buzzards Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

and marsh orchids. During the Autumn 2000 UK Floods the village was affected by flooding from the River Aire, though was spared the worst of the flooding that affected the neighbouring village of Gowdall, two miles away. Following the flooding in 2000 flood defenses in the area were dramatically improved, and defended the village when they were put to their first major test, during flooding over the winter of 2015.

Layout

Hensall is a detached village, meaning that as well as the principal settlement there are a number of separate areas to the community. The core of the village is built around Main Street, while three outlying parts of Hensall are separated from the centre by

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

. As the name suggests, Main Street is the principle thoroughfare of Hensall. With Field Lane and Finkle Street, Main Street forms a loop that makes up the village core. The area contains a number of the village's amenities including the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

(which also acts as the village store), the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and the local

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

restaurant; La Anchor. Several other residential streets are connected to this part of the village. One of these streets, Bird Lane, leads to a sports field, home of Hensall's cricket and football clubs. Adjacent to the cricket pavilion is one of the village's two

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

s. Station Road acts as a corridor connecting the heart of the village to Weeland Road. Weeland Road is the main road in and out of the village. A number of homes can be found along Station Road, as well as Hensall Station, and the village

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

; the Railway Tavern. Station Road is also home to the village's other playground. Where Station Road meets Weeland Road there is a crossroads, from which Church Lane emerges on the other side. Church Lane connects Hensall to the neighbouring village of

Great Heck Great Heck is a small village in Heck parish, about south of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. The population of the parish was 201 at the 2011 census. Until 1974 it was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. From 1974 to 2023 it was part of t ...

, which is a mile to the south. Church Lane is home to its namesake, St. Paul's Church, and the

village school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

. Main Street becomes Wand Lane as it exits the core part of Hensall to the north-west. About a quarter of a mile along the route is Dene Close, a collection of post-war homes, built in the 1950s. Half a mile west along Weeland Road from the Station Road crossroads is a small collection of homes in an area known as Eggborough Ings. The homes in this area connect with Wand Lane to the north, and the core part of the village, via Hazel Old Lane.

Governance

Hensall was historically part of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. From 1938 to 1974 the village was part of the

Osgoldcross Rural District Osgoldcross Rural District was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was created in 1938, from 19 remaining parishes of the disbanded Pontefract Rural District after three-quarters of its population (but only a small frac ...

. Following the Local Government Act of 1972 Hensall became part of the ceremonial, and non-metropolitan, county of

. The same act saw local administration transferred to the District of Selby. In 2023 Selby district was abolished and the village is now administered by

North Yorkshire Council North Yorkshire Council, known between 1974 and 2023 as North Yorkshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, England. Since 2023 the council has been a unitary authority, being a county coun ...

. Hensall is in the UK parliamentary seat of

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

North Yorkshire Police North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the unitary authority, unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and the City of York in northern England. As of April 2024 the force had a strength of 1,665 police officers, 127 spe ...

serve the village from their local base in

Transport

By road Hensall lies on the A645, which is known as Weeland Road in the village. The A645 connects with the A19 a mile west of Hensall, providing connections to Selby and

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

to the north, and

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

to the south. The A19 connects with Junction 34 of the M62 just south-west of the village, providing good connections to

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

and

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

to the east, and

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

to the west. In December 1973 a service area nearby on the M62 was proposed, of 40 acres. There would be a transport cafe, with a separate cafeteria on each side. It would cost £700,000. By rail Hensall is located on the Pontefract Line of the

West Yorkshire Metro Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE), at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yo ...

. From Monday to Saturday the village is served by three trains a day, with one train terminating in

, and two trains terminating in

. The

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

(that connects

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) passes Hensall just a quarter of a mile east of the village, though the nearest stations to Hensall on that line are at

, which is sixteen miles south of the village, and

, twenty one miles to the north. By bus Hensall has a limited service, operated by

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

. There are a number of bus stops placed in the village along a route that goes from Selby to

, and back, between Monday and Saturday.

Amenities

For a village of its size Hensall is served by a relatively good number of community amenities and services. Hensall Community Primary School takes children from the age of four to eleven. The Snaith School offers secondary education to children aged eleven to sixteen, and is located just four miles away. The Snaith School is connected to the village by a purpose run bus. There are two children's playgrounds in the village. Hensall is also served by a post office, which doubles as the village store. The flat landscape and numerous country lanes around Hensall lend themselves to

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, there are also a number of public footpaths around the village. Hensall is home to both a

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club and a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club. The Anglican St. Paul's Church, and a Methodist church, can both be found in the village.

Hensall on screen

On 20 January 2015 Hensall was featured on the popular

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television show

Great British Railway Journeys ''Great British Railway Journeys'' is a 2010–present BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The d ...

. The programme is presented by former MP

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...

. During the episode "

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to Hensall", during the sixth season of the show, Portillo boarded a Goole bound train at Knottingley Station and travelled on one of the least used passenger railway routes in the country, a so-called "

Parliamentary Train A parliamentary train was a passenger service operated in the United Kingdom to comply with the Railway Regulation Act 1844 that required train companies to provide inexpensive and basic rail transport for less affluent passengers. The act req ...

". While he was in Hensall Portillo took a ride through the village on a road going steam engine. In late 2018 filming took place on the outskirts of the village for the

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

film Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw.

Eggborough Power Station Eggborough power station was a coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire, England, which was capable of co-firing biomass. It was situated on the River Aire, between the towns of Knottingley and Snaith, deriving its name from the nearby vi ...

, the location of the shoot, and which borders the village, was able to be used as a location, having been decommissioned earlier that year. During the

2019 UCI Road World Championships The 2019 UCI Road World Championships was the 92nd edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. It took place between 22 and 29 September 2019 in the Historic counties of England, historic c ...

Hensall was one of the host towns and villages along two of the races. The two races to visit Hensall were staged on Friday 27 September 2019, and included the junior women's race and the under 23 men's race. The junior women's race was won by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

cyclist

Megan Jastrab Megan Jastrab (born January 29, 2002) is an American professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . In September 2019, Jastrab won the women's junior road race at the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire ...

. The men's under-23 race was won by the

Samuele Battistella Samuele Battistella (born 14 November 1998) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Battistella's first professional win was at the 2021 Veneto Classic. He was initially named to the Astana team for the 2022 Tour de France, ...

, while

Tom Pidcock Thomas Pidcock (born 30 July 1999) is a British cyclist who competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike and road bicycle racing disciplines of the sport for the Swiss . Prior to his release in December 2024, he rode for UCI WorldTeam . After a p ...

, who is from Yorkshire, took the

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. Both of these races took place on a course that began in Doncaster and finished in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

, and both races were broadcast live on

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

Hensall, Canada

In 1851 two Hensall villagers, the brothers George and James Petty, founded the community of Hensall in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The settlement is located in Huron County, and is roughly nine miles east

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

, one of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

Notable people

* Anne Greaves (1889–1971), was the first woman to become a member of the Institute of Quarrying, and created artificial stone through her quarrying company.

References

External links

*
Photo of the Methodist Church
{{authority control Civil parishes in North Yorkshire Villages in North Yorkshire