Heslington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heslington is a village in the unitary authority of City of York in the north of England, south-east of the centre of York and is considered as a suburb of the city. Prior to 1974, it was a village in the Derwent Rural District, which was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire. From 1974 to 1996 it was part of the Selby district before becoming part of the new City of York unitary authority.

According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,122. The parish also includes the Badger Hill area.

It was probably an Anglian settlement and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It became a Conservation Area in 1969.

Heslington Hall was built between 1565 and 1568 for Sir Thomas Eynns. In the 20th century it was owned by Richard de Yarburgh-Bateson, 6th Baron Deramore, and was used as the headquarters for the Royal Air Force's No. 4 (Bomber) Group from 1940-45. It is now the administrative headquarters for the University of York.

The village tends to be busy, partly because its facilities are convenient for students of the University of York; in the main village street these include four banks, two pubs, a post office, a unisex hair salon, and a grocery shop. Heslington Church is nearby. The local school, Lord Deramore's Primary School, serves the residents of the nearby Badger Hill estate, Heslington village and the families of the scholars of the University of York.

The University of York has started work on a second campus, named Heslington East,^[1] to the east of the village. There has been some controversy about the project as it is feared the village will be swamped by traffic and lose its status as a small urban village.^[2] The planning application went to public enquiry and the project was approved by the Department of Communities and Local Government in May 2007.^[3]