FURTHER to Ruth Roberts (no relation) of May 20, who refers to the fact that City of York Council does not own Monk Stray or any of the other strays in York.

I was under the impression, rightly or wrongly, that they belonged to the Freemen of York and were governed by people known as “pasture masters”. This was certainly the case in the 1980s when the Benson & Hedges Golf Tournament was held at Fulford Golf Club.

Spectators were allowed to park cars free of charge on the other side of the road, part of an area I knew in the 1940s and 1950s as Low Moor and stray land.

Would someone with far greater local knowledge than myself please confirm who owns what. Particularly where Micklegate Stray is and what part of Knavesmire actually belongs to York Racecourse.

Peter Roberts, Thornhills, Haxby.