Tang Hall

Tang Hall is a suburban district of the city of York in England.

Overview

It lies in the east of the city and is approximately bordered by Heworth to the north, Hull Road to the south, Melrosegate to the west and Osbaldwick to the east. The area consists mainly of houses dating from the 1930s, most of which are council houses or ex-council houses. Whilst the area is popular for student housing from the nearby University of York, that would only be a very small part of the story. Tang Hall is supplied by a local convenience store, various takeaways, a bakers, a pharmacy and a Post Office. Tang Hall Community Centre, Tang Hall Surgery, Tang Hall Library and Tang Hall Primary School, established in the 1920s as Tang Hall school and the Avenue School, also serve the local community.

The area has three churches: St Hilda's Church, St George's Methodist Church and St. Aelred's Roman Catholic Church. The current St Hilda's Church was built recently to replace the older, larger St Hilda's Church which was on the same site. Whilst it stood for many years, it remained unfinished until its demolition. St Aelred's Roman Catholic Church has a number of statues by Professor Julius Maugsch, a Hungarian sculptor from Budapest who settled in Penyghent Avenue after leaving Hungary in the 1960s. St Aelreds school, a Roman Catholic Primary school, occupied the site next to the church but has since been demolished. St Margaret Clitherow secondary modern school for girls was at the junction of Penyghent Avenue and Fifth Avenue, but is now also demolished. A new St Aelreds school was built on the site of St Margeret Clitherow's in the 19XXs and still stands today, attaining good league table scores every year.

The Tang Hall Local History Group is a group that aims to preserve records of the past and to create a photographic archive available to the whole community. They meet on the third Thursday of every month from 10.00am - noon, school term times only. Due to increasing numbers they have a change of venue for their meetings. From May they will meet at St Aelred's Community Centre, Fifth Avenue. Young professional couples who have recently moved into the Tang Hall are welcome, as are ex-university students who used to live in the area.

Several of the streets in Tang Hall are named in the same style found in Canada and the United States. They are named from First Avenue to Ninth Avenue, although no 'grid' layout is evident. It is often claimed by estate agents that "the avenues", certainly First and Second Avenue which are directly behind Heworth Church and arguably some of the others, are in fact in Heworth village, but this claim misses the point that Tang Hall is an area steeped in history with a heritage to be proud of. For example, according to the BBC, Janice Gray from Tang Hall in York was awarded Yorkshire Community Person of the Year.

The neighbouring suburbs of Heworth, Osbaldwick and Burnholme are all seen as more desirable addresses. Other streets are named after Archbishops of York. "Constantine Avenue" and "Burlington Avenue" are nicknamed "Conno" and "Burlo" respectively. These two streets have long suffered a reputation as troubled areas, however, many houses have now been privately bought and renovated and the area has much improved.

Although Heworth Village and some of the streets around it retain a village feel, development since the late 19th century has linked Heworth to the city, and it is effectively one of the ring of suburbs surrouding York. The area ranges from streets of terraced houses near the city towards Layerthorpe via large Victorian 'Villas' on East Parade and Heworth Green to older houses along Heworth Village and 1930s semi-detached houses on Stockton Lane. Much modern suburban development has taken place, particularly in the outlying area of Heworth Without.

In recent years there has been an increasing tendency for estate agents to describe properties in the desirable areas of Layerthorpe, Burnholme and Tang Hall as being in the even more desirable Heworth causing some confusion about the true extent of the area.

The area is split into two wards for the purposes of local elections -- Heworth (including all land within the old city boundary) and Heworth Without (outside the old city boundary).

Heworth Holme (also known as Heworth Stray) is a popular open space near Heworth Village.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of professional young couples moving into these streets, which, very importantly, is as a way of getting on the first rung of the property ladder for them. These professional young couples are able to benefit from the community spirit that Tang Hall offers, but it remains to be seen if they will themselves bring anything of benefit to the local community.

The closest secondary school to Constantine Avenue and Burlington Avenue is Archbishop Holgate's School, which in 2007 was judged by Ofsted as "outstanding".

On York City Council, Tang Hall is mostly covered by the Hull Road and Heworth wards. The current councillors are Paul Blanchard (Labour Party), Christina Funnell (Labour) and Ruth Potter(Labour) for Heworth Ward; and Roger Pierce (Labour) and Richard Cregan (Labour) for Hull Road Ward.