The place of the horse fight
Follifoot's name comes from Old Norse and is usually translated as "place of the horse fight", and the village has kept a long link with horses. It isn't in the Domesday Book; the first known record is Pholifet in the 12th century. An Anglian cross stands at the crossroads at the top of the village, beside the old stocks.
In the 19th century Follifoot was a busy working village, with flax, tanning, tailors, joiners, a wheelwright and blacksmiths. Much of that life was tied to Rudding Park, whose south gatehouse, the listed Rudding Gates, stands at the top of the village. The estate's owner, Sir Joseph Radcliffe, gave land for the Church of St Joseph and St James on Plompton Road, which opened in 1848. Today the A658 bypass, John Metcalf Way, separates the main part of the estate from the village.
Main Street runs through the centre past the Radcliffe Arms, the Harewood Arms, the shop and post office and the primary school, with Pannal Road and Plompton Road leading off it.
Detached homes and two-car households
Around the village (LSOA Harrogate 012D, 531 households), the 2021 Census found:
- 56% of homes were detached, 22% semis, 15% terraces and 3% flats.
- 80% were owner-occupied and 14% privately rented.
- 60% of households had two or more cars or vans, and only 4% had none.
Across the wider Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale & Tockwith ward, 53% of homes were detached.
In Follifoot that usually means:
- Long or wide drives in front of detached houses, often with a turning area.
- Gravel with a setts or block apron to stop stones reaching the road.
- New gates and stone piers set back from the road.
- Relaying old tarmac that has cracked and lifted over clay.
The conservation area
The centre of the village is the Follifoot Conservation Area, and the Plompton conservation area lies to the east. Listed buildings in and around the village include the Church of St Joseph and St James, the Rudding Gates and flanking walls, the Saxon cross, the stocks, Hilltop House, Hunters Lodge, Park Croft, Park Side, The Priory and a K6 telephone kiosk by the cross, all Grade II.
In the conservation area:
- ask North Yorkshire Council before taking down stone walls or gate piers to widen an entrance,
- choose materials that suit stone houses, such as gravel, setts or natural stone edging,
- remember that listed buildings need consent for changes affecting their character or setting.
Elsewhere, a permeable front drive, or one draining to a lawn or border, is permitted development. Impermeable paving over five square metres draining to the road needs planning permission.
Clay till and a dry village
The BGS maps Follifoot on Harrogate Till, a gravelly sandy clay, over Millstone Grit mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. The clay drains slowly, so we plan drainage from the start:
- Permeable surfaces sit on a deeper open-graded base or drain to a soakaway or border.
- Tarmac and close-jointed paving need falls towards a channel drain or the garden, not the road.
- Frost heave is a risk on wet clay, so the sub-base depth matters.
The Environment Agency maps no Flood Zone 2 or 3 land within 300 metres of the village centre. Surface water after heavy rain is the more likely problem, especially where a drive slopes towards the house.
Crossings and quotes
Dropping the kerb. North Yorkshire Council offers a domestic licence at £310.20 with the work done by an approved independent contractor, or will quote to build the crossing for a £102.36 fee. On Main Street and near the A658 junctions, the council looks carefully at visibility. See our dropped kerbs page.
Every Follifoot quote is worked out after a visit and is a fixed figure for the agreed job. What changes it:
- Size. Long drives and turning areas mean more excavation, base and edging.
- Removing the old surface and taking it away.
- Drainage on clay, including channel drains and soakaways.
- Stone walls, piers and gates, which add skilled work.
- The crossing, if the kerb needs dropping or widening.
Around Follifoot
- Pannal driveway page: West along Pannal Road, a village by the Crimple Beck.
- Oatlands driveway page: North-west towards Harrogate, a suburb of detached homes.
- Knaresborough driveway page: North, the market town on the Nidd gorge.
Finishes often chosen in Follifoot: gravel & stone, resin driveways, block paving & setts.
See all areas: View all areas.
Questions people ask in Follifoot
Is Follifoot a conservation area?
The village centre is, and North Yorkshire Council can confirm whether your address is inside it. Plompton has its own conservation area to the east.
Is Follifoot at risk of flooding?
The Environment Agency maps no river flood zones close to the village centre. Good drainage on the drive still matters on clay ground.
How do I stop gravel spreading onto the road?
A setts or block apron at the entrance and a stabilising grid under the gravel keep stones on the drive.
Can I set new gates back from the road?
Usually, yes. Setting gates back lets a car pull off the road before stopping, which helps with safety and the kerb application.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, LSOA Harrogate 012D and Spofforth with Lower Wharfedale & Tockwith ward (TS044, TS045, TS054 via Nomis); Wikipedia: Follifoot; Planning Data: conservation areas and listed buildings; BGS Geology Viewer, 1:50,000; Environment Agency flood map for planning; North Yorkshire Council: pavements and kerbs (dropped kerbs); GOV.UK: permeable surfacing of front gardens.