Strensall Local History Group

The Strensall Local History Group aims to promote and study the history of the Parishes of Strensall & Towthorpe, and to disseminate historical information through meetings, publications, lectures and events. We are an informal group of people interested in learning about all aspects of the history of Strensall, York and the surrounding area. We hold regular monthly meetings to listen to speakers on wide-ranging subjects, and in summer there are usually two outings/outside events. New members are always welcome and, if they want to, can become involved in our archaeological, family history and other projects. No prevoius knowledge or skills are required! For more information contact the Group: slhg@gmx.com. Our website is at slhg.weebly.com/.

MEETINGS

Meetings are held in the Function Room, Strensall Village Hall at 7.15pm on the last Wednesday of the month, except where stated. No meeting in August or December. New members are always welcome.

Yearly subscription is only £12. Visitors: £3 per meeting.

Next meetings:

• 27th July 2016: Visit to St Mary's Church, Strensall, in its 150th anniversary year (meet at 6.45 pm at the church).
• 28th September 2016: The Railway in Strensall - see where Strensall's railway story fitted in as a microcosm of Britain's railway history - presented by Russell Hollowood.
• 26th October 2016: Dramatic Discoveries - Ben Reeves from YAT will talk about the recent excavations of the Hospital of St. Leonard at the Theatre Royal.
• 30th November 2016: AGM (short!) followed by Infotainment (a form of entertainment which happens to have some facts mixed in).

Meetings in the early part of 2017 to be confirmed later.  

WORKING GROUPS

Working Groups provide opportunities for members to concentrate on areas of particular interest. These Working Groups are:

Archaeology including Metal Detecting : the group aims to explore the archaeology of the village in all its forms; current interests are the Manor Hall and its surrounding fields, a "Roman road" and a survey of the remains of ridge and furrow.

Buildings History: this group is tracing the history of some of the older residences in Strensall through old documents and records.

Community Groups : the group aims to trace sporting and other activities which went on in the village in days gone by.

Family History: a group which aims to help members get started on researching their family history using the internet and other archive material.

Oral History: the group aims to secure an oral record of the history of the village by recording residents of Strensall as they recall their memories of the past.

Photography: by collecting old pictures of the village, this group is building up a useful database. It has published a book "Strensall Then and Now" which includes old photographs of Strensall alongside their modern counterparts.

The Resources Group and the Technology Group support the work of the other groups by providing a database of resources and technical help where required.

"STRENSALL THEN AND NOW"

One of our earlier projects was the publication of STRENSALL THEN AND NOW which features old photographs of the village alongside their modern counterparts. Copies are still available and on sale from Strensall Library, price £2.50.

"DISCOVER STRENSALL: 1. THE OLD VILLAGE WALK"

Have you been on our walking tour of the village? Grab  yourself a copy of the leaflet (50p) from the Library and go at your leisure. There are lots of interesting places you wil have walked past many times but not really 'seen'!

LATEST NEWS

The cataloguing and storage of the Group's archives  continues, making full use of the ideas presented at the Gateway to Archives workshop: the large quantity of information and artefacts contained in the archives is taking a while to process and store to the high standard required. After much time and effort by SLHG members, a notice board has been erected showing some of the important places in the Village and notable events in Strensall's history.

                                   Field Surveying in Strensall

                                   Walking the walk - geofizzing near Strensall

Our own VC

Our new History Notice Board