For other uses see The Groves (disambiguation)

The Groves is an area of York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, covering the area just outside the city centre between Huntington

Huntington, City of York

Huntington is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Foss, north of York and south of Strensall...

 Road and Haxby

Haxby

Haxby is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York, on the River Foss, five miles north of York and south of Strensall, in North Yorkshire, England. Haxby is bordered on the east by the River Foss, and to the west by the village of Wigginton, whose expansion has caused the...

 Road. It consists largely of close-knit terraces

Terraced house

In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...

, the majority of which date from before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

The area is predominantly inhabited by students of York St John University

York St John University

York St John University York St John University York St John University (formerly known variously as York St John University College (2004), York St John College (2001), Ripon and York St John: a College of the University of Leeds (c. 1996), University College of Ripon and York St John...

, which runs along the borders of the Groves. Lowther Street provides the main stretch of local shops, a takeaway, a small supermarket and a shop specialising in Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 food; it is also a busy route for traffic during rush hour periods. The area can be characterised by the series of narrow alleyway

Alleyway

is a video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo as a global launch title for the Game Boy. It is a Breakout clone and one of the first four games developed and released for the system. The game was released first in Japan in 1989, in North America later that...

s running down the back of most streets; however, the City of York Council is considering plans to close these for "safety reasons".

The Groves is also home to a primary school, Park Grove School

Park Grove School

Park Grove County Primary and Secondary Modern Boys School.The Groves Wesleyan School was opened in the Groves in 1869 at a cost of £2,435. this building was closed in 1893...

, and the Young Groves centre. The area sometimes comes under scrutiny because of its crime rate; but its location close to the city centre and York Hospital

York Hospital

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a National Health Service teaching hospital in York, England. The York Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was established on 1 April 2007....

 and its easy access to the north side of the city ring road

Ring road

A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...

mean that this is not reflected in property prices.

The high level of traffic passing through the narrow streets has led to a number of traffic safety reviews, and a one-way system has been in place for roughly 7 years, as of 2006.