Huntington, City of York


Not to be confused with Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Huntington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Huntington & New Earswick ward and lies on the River Foss, to the north of York and the south of Strensall. Before 1996 it was part of the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire.
According to the 2001 census Huntington had a population of 9,277, increasing to 12,108 at the 2011 census.
Huntington is made up of mainly low-lying land, with the highest point in the village being only 64 feet above sea level. It covers some and measures some 4 miles from north to south and 3 miles east to west.

History

There has been a parish church in this village since 1086. Huntington originally included three villages within the parish boundaries: Towthorpe, Earswick and Huntington. Huntington itself also comprised the small township of West Huntington, including West Huntington Hall. The village is unique in that the main settlement and church are separated by a river, the Foss. During the Middle Ages, the part of Huntington to the east of the Foss was part of the Forest of Galtres, a hunting royal forest that covered large areas of land to the north-east of York and is still referred to in many local place names. The Act of Dis-Afforestation of 1629 put an end to this.
Huntington remained a very small settlement until the second half of the 19th century, with no more than approximately 630 inhabitants by 1901. The expansion of Huntington started slowly around 1870–1880, with the construction of nearby New Earswick and the opening of Queen Elizabeth Barracks in nearby Strensall. The rehousing schemes during the 1930s speeded up the growth of the village and turned Huntington into a suburban area of the York. The village suffered only a little damage during the Second World War and saw a further housing expansion along Huntington and Strensall Road in the post-war years. The northwards expansion was halted by the construction of the York ring road. Most of the land associated with West Huntington has now become the separate parish of New Earswick. Huntington's old village, including All Saints' Church and the nearby West Huntington Hall, was made a conservation area in 1991. The urbanisation of the village is now almost complete, and current housing development is mainly driven by evolutions in the UK property market, the shortage of housing in York and the attraction of the local secondary school, Huntington School.
Huntington was served by Earswick railway station on the York to Beverley Line between 1847 and 1965.

Economy

Local amenities

The Flag & Whistle pub along with the Blacksmith's Arms make up the local watering holes. The village also has numerous shops including a post office, newsagent's, grocer's, butcher's and pharmacy. In addition there are a few light industrial enterprises, including several motor garages. A few community/parish halls provide venues for a good range of local community groups. The Monks Cross shopping centre is home to several national chain stores and three supermarkets

Commerce and industry

A recent expansion is the retail park which include three new major shops and many cafes and restaurants The adjacent industrial estate provides employment through several financial and service sector companies and is the UK headquarters and main manufacturing site of Portakabin Ltd., part of the Shepherd Building Group.

Public transport

With the demise of the former railway station under the Beeching Axe in the 1960s, Huntington has since been served by local buses. The main bus operator is First York. As of September 2015, Huntington is served by the following local bus routes:
All Saints' Church is set in the countryside between Huntington and New Earswick. Its location is on Church Lane, off the Old Village in Huntington. It sits beside the River Foss which runs between the two villages. It is a popular location for life ceremonies, especially weddings and baptisms and has an attractive and well-maintained churchyard. There is a large car park nearby which is in constant use all week by Huntington residents.
St. Andrew's Church is home to a lively Christian community whose building sits on Huntington Road, near the Link Road which connects Huntington to New Earswick. It is close to Huntington Secondary School and is just opposite the New Earswick bowls club and the 'Flag & Whistle' pub. The building includes a hall used for numerous youth and community groups during the week as well as the Ladybirds Nursery School and a school of dance. There is also large scout hut to the rear and together with an active church community the site is in use seven days a week including most evenings. The church has recently been refurbished in order to serve the community better, including creating a new kitchen, office space and improved access to the hall and church buildings.
Both All Saints' and St. Andrew's are founder members of Churches Together in Huntington and New Earswick, together with Huntington Methodist Church, New Earswick Methodist Church, St. Paulinus' Catholic Church and the New Earswick Religious Society of Friends.

Education

Huntington Primary School is a large local primary school with approximately 500 pupils. Whilst most children of the village attend the school, Huntington Primary also attracts a relatively large proportion of children from neighbouring villages.
Huntington School is a mixed comprehensive secondary school. The school is a technology college with approximately 1,500 pupils.

Sport

Huntington is the location of Huntington Stadium, a multi-purpose facility which acts primarily as the home of York City Knights. Next to the stadium lies York WaterWorld. Both have been mothballed since 2014 as work is undertaken before the start of the York Community Stadium. The project will see WaterWorld demolished and Huntington Stadium rebuilt to higher specifications. The new community stadium will be home to both York City Knights and York City F.C., the latter relocating from Bootham Crescent, which is to be demolished to make way for a housing development.
A new regional standard athletics track was constructed at the University of York as part of the project to replace the track at Huntington. City of York Athletics Club relocated from Huntington to the university as a result.
The old stadium's main playing area was completely surrounded by an athletics track and there was also a small area which was used for hammer throwing, shot put and discus. The stadium was equipped with floodlights. There was an all-seater main stand plus a full-length standing-only covered stand on the opposite side.
Following the recent demolition of Huntington Stadium and the Waterworld swimming pool, plans are in place to make further retail and sporting facilities available.
A community archaeology project was undertaken by in 2015 to record the site of a Roman Marching Camp Site. The work of the local community project "" produced a historical record.
After the York Dig had concluded on 19 June 2015 demolition of Huntington Stadium will be able to commence in the near future.
The project faces more delays and the whole site remain empty as it awaits a legal challenge to it Planning Application.