New Earswick

New Earswick
Yorkshire North Riding
The Hartrigg Oaks Complex
Location
Grid reference:	SE609555
Location:	53°59’31"N, 1°4’21"W
Data
Population:	2,737  (2011)
Post town:	York
Postcode:	YO32
Dialling code:	01904
Local Government
Council:	York
Parliamentary constituency:	York Outer

New Earswick is a model village in the North Riding of Yorkshire, at the northern edge of the county town, York. It stands near the River Foss, north of York and south of Haxby. The 2011 census recorded a parish population of 2,737.

History

The village of New Earswick was built as a genuine mixed community. There was housing for both workers and managers, in a green setting with gardens for each home with its own 2 fruit trees. It was founded by the York philanthropist, Joseph Rowntree, who was quoted as saying, "I do not want to establish communities bearing the stamp of charity but rather of rightly ordered and self governing communities". The first 28 houses were designed between 1902 and 1904 by the architect Raymond Unwin, after which the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust (now the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust) was established to continue building and manage the new village. The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust is part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The village had contemporaries such as Bournville, Saltaire, Port Sunlight and others. It presented a sharp contrast to the slums that had developed in York and other cities during the 19th century, the deprivation of which had been revealed in Seebohm Rowntree's report of 1901, entitled Poverty: a study of town life. It revealed appalling statistics of dark, overcrowded and insanitary housing.

As a result of the report, Joseph Rowntree's conviction that it must be possible to provide better housing for people on low incomes led him to acquire 150 acres of land near the village of Earswick, two and a half miles to the north of the centre of York. The planner Raymond Unwin and the architect Barry Parker were commissioned to produce an overall plan for a new 'garden' village and the detailed designs for its first houses. They also designed the garden cities of Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City.

The building of New Earswick created a balanced village community where rents were kept low, but still represented a modest commercial return on the capital invested. Houses were open to any working people, not just Rowntree employees. The village was to be a demonstration of good practice.

The Trust Deed of the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust, which was set up in 1904 to build and manage New Earswick, safeguarded generous open green space. All the grass verges were planted with trees after which almost all the roads are named. The village was built with bricks that were made in the brickworks on the outskirts of New Earswick. From 1950 the brickyard, which closed down in the 1930s, was developed into a nature reserve.

Due to their religious beliefs, The Rowntree family decreed there would not be a public house in the village. There never has been, although the Sports Club obtained a drinks licence in the 1980s.

Community

There is a local community centre, the Folk Hall, which hosts activities such as keep-fit, yoga, snooker, and a junior youth club. New Earswick has recreational facilities, including a swimming pool currently run by a charitable organisation, the Friends of New Earswick Swimming Pool, tennis courts and football, rugby and cricket pitches at the New Earswick Sports and Social Club. There were two open access play areas close to the Folk Hall, including a hard surface play area which have recently been bulldozed for a development of houses. There is a library based in the Integrated Children's Centre at the local primary school, a doctor's surgery and a range of shops, including two general stores, a pet shop and Post Office. As of 2017 the Post Office is situated within the Folk Hall.

The village has 36 allotments in two areas, Willow Bank and Sleeper Path.

Geography

The River Foss runs along the eastern boundary of New Earswick with the York to Scarborough Line running to the west. The Nestle factory and grounds mark the southern border with the northern border being the A1237 York Outer Ring Road. The village was built using bricks from the brickworks on the outskirts of the village. From 1950 the brickyard was developed into a nature reserve. The reserve is the home of New Earswick Angling Club, which was formed in 1948.

Economy

Unlike the villages of Port Sunlight, Saltaire and Bournville the village was not designed specifically for the workforce of the nearby Joseph Rowntree Cocoa Works although some do earn their living at the factory which was taken over by Swiss firm, Nestle in 1988.

Churches

In 1914 the Anglican church of St. Andrew's was built on the edge of the parish. The church was extended in 1939 to cater for the new housing in South Huntington just across the River Foss. A Methodist chapel and meeting house for the Society of Friends were added later. St. Andrew's Church is now part of the ecclesiastical parish of Huntington and New Earswick.

Sport

• Cricket: New Earswick Cricket Club, who play at the recreation ground on White Rose Avenue
• Rugby: New Earswick All Blacks

Pictures

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about New Earswick)

Views of New Earswick

The Folk Hall in New Earswick   White Rose Avenue in New Earswick   Westfield Beck behind housing on the west of New Earswick

Outside links

• "New Earswick, York". https://www.jrht.org.uk/community/new-earswick-york. Retrieved 4 March 2017. 
• "The Rowntree Society". https://www.rowntreesociety.org.uk/history/rowntree-a-z/new-earswick/. Retrieved 4 March 2017.