Flaxton, North Yorkshire

The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book 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 by 1086.{{OpenDomesday|SE6762|flaxton|Flaxton|accessdate=22 December 2012}} The etymology of the name is taken from Old English meaning settlement where flax is made.{{cite web|url=http://www.ryedale.gov.uk/pdf/WardProfileSheriffHuttonV1.3.pdf|title=Etymology|accessdate=22 December 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121119050306/http%3A//www.ryedale.gov.uk/pdf/WardProfileSheriffHuttonV1.3.pdf|archivedate=19 November 2012|df=dmy-all}}

In 1807 a lead box containing around 300 Saxon silver coins was discovered in a field near the village.{{cite book|title=History, Directory & Gazeteer, of the County of York: Vol. II East and North Ridings|editor-first=Edward|editor-last=Baines|year=1823|page=440|url=https://archive.org/details/historydirector01baingoog/page/n459/mode/2up|accessdate=17 April 2020}}

Flaxton was served by Flaxton railway station on the York to Scarborough Line between 1845 and 1930.{{Butt-Stations}}

The village lies within the Thirsk and Malton (UK Parliament constituency). It is also within the Sheriff Hutton & Derwent electoral division of North Yorkshire Council.{{cite web |title=Find a councillor |url=https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx?XXR=0&AC=WARD&WID=13325 |website=North Yorkshire Council |access-date=4 June 2023}}

From 1974 to 2023 the village was part of the Ryedale district.

The nearest settlements to the village are Claxton {{convert|1.5|mi}} to the south; West Lilling {{convert|2.2|mi}} to the north-west; Harton {{convert|1.5|mi}} to the east and Thornton-le-Clay {{convert|1.6|mi}} to the north-east.{{cite web | url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/tools-support/open-data-support | title=OpenData support | OS Tools & Support }}

The 1881 UK Census recorded the population as 366.{{cite book|title=Bulmer's Topography, History and Directory (Private and Commercial) of North Yorkshire 1890 |page=705|year=2002|origyear=1890 |publisher= S&N Publishing|isbn= 1-86150-299-0}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadAreaSearch.do?a=7&r=1&i=1001&m=0&s=1356179756527&enc=1&areaSearchText=flaxton&areaSearchType=16&extendedList=true&searchAreas=|title=2001 UK Census|accessdate=22 December 2012|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}} The 2011 Census showed a population of 343.{{NOMIS2011|id=1170217237|title=Flaxton Parish|accessdate=17 March 2018}}

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 breeding sites.

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

File:Parish Council Meeting Rooms, Flaxton, North Yorkshire.jpg

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 and dates to the end of the 19th-century.{{NHLE|num=1406423|desc=Flaxton Old School|access-date=17 April 2020}}

The school closed in 1987 and was listed as a Grade II 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 primary school{{cite web|url=https://maps.northyorks.gov.uk/connect/analyst/mobile/#/main?mapcfg=primary_catchments|title=Map: primary school catchment areas|publisher=North Yorkshire County Council|accessdate=17 April 2020}} and Huntington School, York.{{cite web|url=https://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/file/3077/guide-to-school-catchment-areas|title=Guide to School Catchment Areas|page=53|publisher=City of York Council|accessdate=17 April 2020}}

File:St Lawrence Church Flaxton 2 (Nigel Coates).jpg

St Lawrence's Church, Flaxton was built in 1853 in the 13th-century Gothic style and replaced an earlier chapel.{{cite book|title=A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2|editor-first=William|editor-last=Page|location=London|section=Parishes:Bossall|pages=91–98|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol2/pp91-98 |via=British History Online|accessdate=17 April 2020}}{{cite web|title=Parish Records for Flaxton: Finding Aid|url=https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/downloads/pr-flax.pdf|publisher=Borthwick Institute / University of York|accessdate=17 April 2020}} The church was declared a rectory in 1867 before which time it had been a perpetual curacy.{{London Gazette |issue=23288 |date=6 August 1867 |page=4368}}

The lychgate was erected as a memorial after the First World War.{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/29923|title=St Lawrences Lych Gate - WWI|publisher=Imperial War Museum|accessdate=17 April 2020}}

• Listed buildings in Flaxton, North Yorkshire

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{{Commons category|Flaxton, North Yorkshire}}

• {{cite web|url=https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/pr-flax|title=Parish records of Flaxton|publisher=Borthwick Institute for Archives / University of York}}

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Category:Villages in North Yorkshire

Category:Civil parishes in North Yorkshire