Holgate allotments is the oldest council-owned allotment site in York. The site was laid out in 1905 after local residents petitioned the council to provide land for vegetable growing. Most of these petitioners occupied terraced housing in four streets off Acomb Road (Murray Street, Lindley Street, Park Lane and Falconer Street). By January 1906 the first plotholders were eagerly digging over their beds. Holgate’s success kick-started York’s allotment movement, which gained further momentum after the introduction of the Allotment Act, 1908. Under this Act, local councils had a duty to provide allotments for local residents.
Many of the first plotholders at the Holgate site were employed at the Railway Carriage Works across the road. Having an allotment gave them access to fresh air, exercise and a place to grow their own fresh fruit and vegetables. One of the original tenants on the site was John Edward Graham, the great-uncle of Paul Graham, who is Co-chair of the allotment Association. Plot No. 20 continues to be worked by the family and has therefore been cultivated by the Grahams for over 100 years!
Further evidence of the site’s historical link with the Railway Carriage Works can be found in two old railway carriages that have been put to use as allotment sheds. In the middle of last century one of these carriages, which stands at the entrance to the site, was also used as an allotment shop. The shop was wound up in 1968. The carriage continued to be used as an allotment shed until 2014 when a group of plotholders came together with the aim of restoring this important part of our site’s history.
Holgate Allotments Association was formed in 2014, partly in response to the reduction of council funding for allotments, but also to provide steering for more substantial improvements on the site.
In 2017, the City of York Council handed over management of all council-run allotment sites to York Allotments Charitable Incorporated Organisation (YACIO).
Holgate Allotments Association 