Falsgrave is a suburb of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Historically, the settlement of Falsgrave pre-dated the Domesday Book survey and was also the manor in the area, existing as the main administrative seat in the region long before the town of Scarborough developed. Gradually the settlement of Falsgrave became a suburb of Scarborough, and lies a little to the west of the town centre at the junction of the A64, A170 and A171 roads. Parts of the suburb were designated as a conservation area in 1985.
History
Falsgrave is recorded in the Domesday Book as being in the wapentake of Dic (later Pickering Lythe), with twenty villagers and belonging to King William, though at the Conquest, it was the property of Earl Morcar, who had ousted Tosti in 1065. During the Harrying of the North between 1069 and 1071, most of the Manor of Falsgrave was laid to waste, though to what extent is unknown especially in relation to the coastal areas. Domesday recorded the name as Walesgrif, which means Pit or hollow by the hill. The first part derives from Old Norse Hvalr (a personal name), and the second part is from the same language gryfia meaning pit. In 1086, the area was owned by King William, but its value, and the number of ploughs, had depreciated. Around 1106, the area became part of what was known as the wapentake of Pickering Lythe. Scarborough developed separately from Falsgrave, however in 1201, King John granted of fields to the newer settlement from Falsgrave.
The Manor of Falsgrave was historically an extensive and important administrative manor in the area, with lands stretching as far north as Staintondale, as far south as Filey, and as far west as Wykeham (Steintun, Fieulac and Wicham respectively in the Domesday survey). The Manor of Falsgrave had 21 villages under its legal control (known as soke in Medieval times. In 1256, King Henry III enacted a charter that stated "..to the burgesses of Escardeburgh [Scarborough], the enlargement of the said borough, by adding the Manor of Whallesgrave [Falsgrave], with all the lands, pastures, mills, pools, and all other things to the same manor belonging..." However, in 1377, King Richard II issued an edict so that Walesgrif would be annexed to the town of Scarborough, ceasing its status as a village, and eventually becoming a suburb of Scarborough.
In 1624, a bond was agreed between the town of Scarborough and one George Fletcher (a plumber) to maintain a steady flow of water from Falsgrave through a lead pipe to the town. However, during the English Civil War, the pipe was plundered by soldiers and needed frequent replacement. During 1648, Falsgrave was where the Parliamentarian side gathered to besiege the Royalists in Scarborough Castle. They succeeded in December 1648. The nearby hills of Falsgrave Moor (or Common), were enclosed in 1774.
In December 1914, during the First World War raid on Scarborough, several shells fire from German ships out at sea rained down on Falsgrave including the park. There were no reports of casualties, but many ares suffered significant damage.
Conservation area
In 1985, part of the suburb of Falsgrave were approved into a conservation area. It includes 22 listed buildings, including ten sets, or rows, of houses, a railway signal box, and three public houses. The signal gantry on the approach was moved to railway station in 2010; it is still a listed structure.
Numbers 9 and 10 Falsgrave Road were originally part of a group of six houses known as Hinderwell Place. The house on the far west of this sequence of buildings was purchased by the Scarborough and Whitby Railway company upon the building of Falsgrave Tunnel underneath it. The vibrations from construction and passing trains was considered too great to leave the building occupied, and it was demolished in 1890, and where it was is now the road access to the supermarket built upon Gallows Close goods yard, which was at the northern portal of Falsgrave Tunnel. The rest of the terraced Hinderwell Place had been demolished by 1891, to make way for newer buildings. On the Opposite side of the road where the Londesborough Road diverges, was a row of Georgian terrace houses known as Victoria Place, which according to the census returns of 1851, was occupied by the Leisured Class. This denoted that they were supported by incomes from investments and property portfolios, with most houses employing servants such as cooks, housemaids and general servants.
