West Heslerton


West Heslerton is a small village in North Yorkshire, England, southeast of Pickering. The village lies within the historic county boundaries of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
West Heslerton is part of the Rillington ward an electoral area covered by Ryedale District Council which is currently represented by Cllr Nathan Garbutt Moore.

History

The village is the site of one of Britain's largest archaeological excavations, that of a large settlement which seems to have been occupied for several centuries until about 800 AD. The settlement flourished during late Roman/early Anglo-Saxon times, but may have been occupied for a considerable length of time before the arrival of Romans in Britain. The site covers over and contains the traces of more than 200 buildings.
The village name is thought to be derived from the word "hazel" or "hazel enclosure". Along with East Heslerton, it forms the civil parish of Heslerton which had 409 residents at the 2001 census, with the population remaining unchanged at the 2011 census.
The Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail and the Centenary Way long distance footpaths run just south of the village.
Heslerton Cricket Club play in West Heslerton and field two teams in the Scarborough Beckett Cricket League.

Ownership

The entire village was owned by the same family for over 150 years, until 2016, when the land and property remaining in Estate ownership was put up for sale for £20 million following the death of its last owner, Eve Dawnay, in 2010. Miss Dawnay was a great-granddaughter of William Henry Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe and of Lt.-Col. Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden, son of the 6th Earl of Essex.
The estate was purchased by Albanwise, a Norfolk-based land and property investment company controlled by the Italian count Luca Rinaldo Contardo Padulli di Vighignolo.

Transport

The A64 trunk road passes through the village. A regular Yorkshire Coastliner bus service providing connections to Scarborough, Malton, York and Leeds is operated by Transdev Blazefield.
West Heslerton was served by Heslerton railway station on the York to Scarborough Line between 1845 and 1930.

Notable people