Selby

For other uses, see Selby (disambiguation)}}}.

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Selby is a town in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the town in 1997 was 12,000. It is the main town in the Selby district.

Contents

1 History
2 Industry & economy
3 Floods
4 Selby rail crash
5 Hobson murders
6 Selby Town Hall
7 Sport
8 See also
9 External links

History

King Henry I, fourth son of William the Conqueror, was born in Selby in either 1068 or 1069.

Selby boasts an abbey which was founded by Benedict in 1069 and subsequently built by the de Lacy family. A notable feature of the abbey is the 14th century Washington Window, featuring the heraldic arms of the ancestors of George Washington, the first president of the United States. The design featuring three red stars above two red bands on a white shield is said to have been the model for the US flag.

Industry & economy

Much of the historical wealth of the town is based upon its position upon the banks of the tidal River Ouse. It has had in the past a shipbuilding industry, as well as a strong mining industry in the area. That has all now disappeared and the main income for the area is derived from arable farming and the travel-to-work areas of Leeds, Wakefield, York and Goole.

Mining in Selby deserves special mention as it was for a time the leading mine complex in the UK and featured some of the most advanced mining technology in Europe. It was the first new mine in the UK for decades and seen as a rejoinder to widespread concern that the British mining industry was effectively shutting down, particularly following the defeat of the UK miners' strike (1984-1985).

Wistow Colliery, which was part of the Selby Complex, holds the UK record for coal mined in one week — 200,743 tonnes in 1995. The 110 square mile (285 km²) Selby Complex, employing 3,000 miners plus contractors and ancillary staff, closed on Friday 14 May 2004 despite rising demand for coal in the UK. British Coal, the pits' owner, said closure was due to rising costs caused by deteriorating geological conditions and the falling price of coal. In its final years, the company listed a £30 million loss on the plant.

Floods

In recent years there have been serious flood problems in Selby and the adjoining village of Barlby. The threat in the Barlby area has been alleviated to some extent by work on improved flood barriers following the major flood of November 2000.

In 2004 the new Selby Bypass opened, taking traffic around the South and East of the town avoiding the town centre. The bypass was delayed due to problems in the construction of a swing bridge to allow large boats to get upstream through Selby towards York.

Selby rail crash

The town of Selby is also wrongly associated with the so-called Selby rail crash, which happened a few miles south of Selby at a village called Great Heck near the M62 motorway. On February 28, 2001, a vehicle crashed off the M62 down an embankment on to a railway track, where it was struck by an oncoming train. The train was not travelling to, from, or through Selby and the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident had no connection with Selby. The association may be due to Selby's being the nearest town of any size to the crash site.

Hobson murders

Selby and its surrounding area came to national prominence once again through another tragedy on 18 July, 2004, this time through four exceptionally violent murders carried out by former binman Mark Hobson. Hobson, 35, killed his girlfriend Claire Sanderson, 27, and her twin sister Diane at a flat in the nearby village of Camblesforth. He subsequently murdered an elderly couple, James and Joan Britton, at their home in the village of Strensall, near York.

Hobson was caught at a petrol station on 25 July, 2004, in the village of Shipton-by-Beningbrough, near York, following a national manhunt. At his subsequent trial, Hobson made English legal history by becoming the first murderer to receive a whole-life tariff on his sentence even though he pleaded guilty to all four murders.

Selby Town Hall

Selby Town Hall is regarded as being one of the best live venues in the area (as officially recognised by winning the Yorkshire Evening Post's Nightlife Award). Selby Town Council have been running this venue since 2003, with regular performances of music, dance, drama and comedy.

Selby Town Hall is a small venue (140 seats) with a big reputation. Acts like Hazel O'Connor, Dara O'Briain, Phil Cool, Dominic Holland, Finbar Furey have all played at this friendly and intimate venue.

Selby Town Hall was originally a Primitive Methodist Chapel. It was then used for a variety of purposes, including a tyre fitting depot, before it fell derelict. In the 1990's, Selby Town Council bought the building and restored it to its former glory, overlooking the junction of Gowthorpe and Brook Street, in the heart of Selby.

Sport

Selby is home to a number of different sporting clubs. Selby's major sporting team is Selby Town F.C.. Selby Town currently play in the Northern Counties East Premier Division and their home stadium is the Flaxley Road Ground, Richard Street.

Selby is also represented in other major sports also. Rugby union club Selby RUFC and Rugby league club Selby Warriors are based at Sandhill Lane Stadium. Other clubs include Selby Tennis Club, Selby Cricket club and numerous other local league football teams.

Selby's local running club is the locally renowned Selby Striders. There are also numerous other clubs catering for sports and activities such as swimming, martial arts, bowls and cycling.

External links

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