Hessay
| Hessay | |
| Yorkshire West Riding | |
|---|---|
 St Johns Baptist Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE523533 |
| Location: | 53°58’25"N, 1°12’11"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 300 (2011) |
| Post town: | York |
| Postcode: | YO26 |
| Dialling code: | 01904 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | York |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
York Outer |
Hessay is a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire, five miles west of the county town, York.
The village is rural and enjoys a peaceful open setting within the Vale of York, a glacial plane created in the last Ice Age.
To the east, York Minster is visible from New Road. To the west, RAF Menwith Hill is visible. To the north, both the Kilburn White Horse and Bilsdale Television mast, some 25 miles away, may be seen during darkness.[1]
The name Shirbutt Lane is derived from Shire Butts, from the days that the village was a jousting Location, and it is still possible on occasion to recognise the location of the jousting butts.[1]
History
Hessay is described in the Domesday Book, named as Hesdesai, whih name appears to come from Old English or Old Norse for lake where the hazels grew.[2]
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Hessay used to have a railway station on the Harrogate Line. The station closed to passengers in 1958,[3] but the Ministry of Defence sidings at Hessay were open until 1991 with closure of the unit effected by March 1996.[4]
The 2011 census recorded a parish population of 265.
Churches
Although the village has no pub, no post office and no shop, it has two fine churches:
- Church of England: St John the Baptist[5]
- Methodist: Hessay Methodist Church
The village was given to the St Mary's Abbey, York by Osbern de Archis and continued in their possession until The Dissolution.[6]
Centre of Yorkshire
In February 2012 the parish of Hessay was deduced to be at the geographical centre of Yorkshire by Ordnance Survey.[7] However, four years earlier, the honour was bestowed upon Cattal further west, with the ash tree at Barkston Ash also being pointed out as being the centre of Yorkshire.[8]
Wildlife
Hessay boasts an abundance of wildlife, Notable bird species include Barn Owls, Tawny Owls, Little Owls, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylarks, Green Plover (Lapwing), Oyster Catchers, Jays, Rooks, Magpies, Carrion Crow. From the population of small mammals which includes Field, Wood and Harvest Mice, Voles and Shrews, supports the upper end of the food chain of Merlins, Kestrels, Red Kites, Buzzards, Hobby, Sparrow Hawks, Goshawks, a Peregrine falcon has even been seen to take prey from the surrounding farmland. There is a small but increasing murmuration of Starlings which are believed to roost at the west end of Hessay Industrial Estate. Curlew Field Farm takes its name from the Curlews which nest in the Vicinity. Kingfishers and Grey Herons visit the many small ponds in the Parish which are home to newts and salamanders. There are many garden birds such as, blue tits, long tailed tits, great tits, Blackbirds, Song and Mistle Thrush, Robins wrens Tree and House Sparrows. The cuckoo can be heard calling in April and May.[1]
Bats roost in a number of buildings and trees in the village.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hessay) |
- Hessay Parish Council
- Feature on Hessay: Yorkshire Post, March 2012
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "A History of Hessay". Hessay Parish Council. http://www.hessay.org/1704hessayhistory.htm. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ↑ Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 237 ISBN 0198691033
- ↑ Young, Alan. "Hessay". http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/hessay/index.shtml. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ↑ "Army Storage Facilities". UK Parliament. 19 January 1995. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1995/jan/19/army-storage-facilities. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ↑ "St. John the Baptist's Church, Hessay". Genuki. http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/PhotoFrames/ARY/HessayStJohnBaptist_1.html.
- ↑ Information on The Parish of Moor Monkton from GENUKI
- ↑ "Where is the Geographic Centre of Yorkshire?". Yorkshire Ridings. http://www.yorkshireridings.org/news/2012/03/where-is-the-geographic-centre-of-yorkshire.html.
- ↑ Catton, Richard (12 May 2012). "Hessay said to be exact centre of Yorkshire". The York Press. http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9703024.Villages_battle_to_be_exact_centre_of_Yorkshire/. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
