History
Haxby existed as a Danish settlement, 1000 years ago in the Forest of Galtres. By 1630 the forest had been cleared to approximately its present extent and the modern day boundaries of the parish become established.
Haxby was unusual in not owning a Church and Manor House, and had to wait until 1862 to become a parish in its own right.
By the early 18th century Haxby had assumed the form of a typical Vale of York village and farming remained a major source of employment well into the 20th century.
Other influences upon Haxby’s prosperity were the local brick and tile works (its bricks being used in some of the village’s late 19th century houses), and the railway line and station, the latter closing the 1960’s.
In 1901 Haxby’s population was still only 711, but grew at an increasing pace from the 1930’s and through the influx of large housing estates in recent decades, to about 10,000 people now.
Important Buildings
Number 48 the Village, a mid-18th century house, is listed, together with the remains of a 14th or 15th century cross in St Mary’s Churchyard.
Other individually important buildings include St Mary’s Church (1878, on the site of a 16th Century Church), the Memorial Hall (built as the village school in 1876), and the substantial house called “Grey Firs”.
Haxby Hall, an impressive Grade II Listed Building, which stood at the east end of the village, was demolished in 1960.
Character
Though called 'The Village', Haxby’s main street today has more a market town atmosphere, being the thriving shopping centre for the surrounding population.
The basic medieval plan from which Haxby evolved still clearly survives, with North and South Lanes, but is now surrounded by mainly recent housing development.