Showing posts with label Selby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Selby. Show all posts

Sunday, 21 October 2012

New local books

I spent yesterday at the Local History bookfair at the Treasure House in Beverley. It is a popular annual event and I met many friends from the local history world. We had a stall selling books on Eastrington, Goole and Gilberdyke as well as ephemera and prints and photo discs.

I bought  two new books and am enjoying reading them.

One was a history of the drainage around the Market Weighton and Wallingfen area written by John Waudby. The book has a lot of detail on the history of the  Market Weighton canal and includes detailed information from the board minutes. From a family historian's point of view you can read about the lock keepers at both Sod House lock and the Humber lock. But I am also enjoying reading about the development of the canal and the problems caused by the fact that it was both an industrial canal and a drain.

The book is available from the drainage board offices in Howden.

http://www.ohdb.org.uk/a-history-of-market-weighton-drainage-board.htm

The other book I bought was about  the transport history of Selby [ A History of Transport through Selby]. This is by local historian David Lewis and although I have not had time to read this book yet it certainly has some lovely illustrations of Selby's hidden heritage.

The next event in my local history calendar is a family history day on 3rd November at Goole library. I have no further details as yet.

Below is a picture of the inscription on the Market Weighton or Humber lock commemorating the building of the canal and lock.

Stone at Humber Lock near Faxfleet



Monday, 11 July 2011

Selby history

One of my projects this week has involved looking in more detail at the history of Selby. It has a beautiful abbey and stands on the River Ouse which has played such a large part in its development.  I remember in earlier days queueing to pay 4d [I think] to cross the toll bridge by car although today it is toll free. The bridge always felt very fragile and rattled horribly as you crossed.


Selby had the earliest railway station in Yorkshire, built in 1834 and was also a prosperous port until the opening of the Aire and Calder canal to Goole eventually took much of its river trade.



This charming drawing dates from 1842 and shows a train crossing the newly opened [in 1840] bridge across the Ouse, linking Selby by rail to Hull.