57-497: Selby coalfield (also known as the Selby complex , or Selby 'superpit' ) was a large-scale deep underground mine complex based around Selby , North Yorkshire , England, with pitheads at Wistow Mine , Stillingfleet Mine , Riccall Mine , North Selby Mine , Whitemoor Mine and at Gascoigne Wood Mine . All coal was brought to the surface and treated at Gascoigne Wood before being distributed by rail. The primary purpose of
114-527: A stripping ratio of around 500:1, so the coal was extracted by underground mining. A geological report "Coal reserves in the Selby Area" was published 1972, and planning permission sought for a mine in 1974, which was given in 1976 after opposition, including concerns about flooding of low-lying land due to subsidence; extraction was limited to the Barnsley seam, though other seams existed. The project
171-483: A 58 MW electrical grid connection, and the site is close to the large Sherburn-in-Elmet Industrial Estate , and directly south of Sherburn-in-Elmet Airfield . Planning permission for re-use of buildings and infrastructure was granted in 2007. Beginning 2008 part of the site has been used on short term lease to British Gypsum for storage of Gypsum produced at Drax Power Station as a byproduct of flue gas desulphurisation . The site has also been proposed for use as
228-686: A by-election held in the predecessor constituency Selby and Ainsty . Selby lies on the tidal River Ouse in a natural area of Yorkshire known as the Humberhead Levels . The main roads that cross at Selby are the A63 from Leeds to Hull and the A19 from Doncaster to York , though the A19 and A63 have no longer met in Selby itself since the opening of the Selby Bypass in 2004. The River Ouse
285-509: A fishing boat. Selby's location allowed vessels to be launched into the river. This often required the more unusual technique of launching the vessels side-on into the river owing to lack of space for a more conventional stern-first or bow-first launch. One famous vessel of the Cochrane and Son's shipyard of the town is the preserved trawler Ross Tiger at Grimsby 's National Fishing Heritage Centre . Cochrane launched their last vessel into
342-412: A manufacturing site for rail vehicles (Hitachi, rejected 2010), and an Eco-town development (rejected by Selby District Council 2008). The Whitemoor Mine and North Selby mine sites were converted to mixed commercial use as business parks by December 2005. Riccall Mine has been converted to an industrial and office development, having received planning permission for the development in 2007. In 2009
399-434: A range of local services, as well as longer-distance routes to Goole , Leeds, Pontefract , Wakefield and York. Thornes Independent operate two routes to Hensall and Hemingbrough . In July 2001, construction began on the Selby by-pass, which had been authorised for development in 1993. The by-pass runs from the A19 at Barlby , along the southern perimeter of Selby, joining the A63 at Thorpe Willoughby . The project
456-724: A sign of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and that is why the official crest of Selby Abbey is three swans. Selby Abbey was closed in 1539 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII and the majority of the buildings have since been demolished. The central nave of the abbey church survived and in 1618 it became the parish church of Selby. During the English Civil War the Royalist garrison of Selby
513-496: A year in 1992–93. In 1993/4, the complex had peak output of 12 million tonnes p.a. In 1994, the Coal Industry Act created the legal framework for the breakup of British Coal ; in 1995, the coalfield was acquired by RJB Mining . Geological problems caused some coal seams to be ignored, and Whitemoor Mine was merged with Riccall Mine in 1996, and North Selby Mine with Stillingfleet Mine in 1997. By 2000, production
570-449: Is navigable upstream as far as York so the old toll bridge , by which the A63 crossed the river at Selby, had to allow for this. For many years the swing bridge in Selby was a notorious local bottleneck but since the opening of the Selby bypass congestion in the town has been relieved. The importance of Selby as a market town has declined in recent decades and its short-lived prominence as
627-780: Is also often referred to as the Selby rail crash. It happened a few miles south of Selby, at the village of Great Heck near the M62 motorway , and Selby was the closest major town to the accident site. On 28 February 2001 a vehicle crashed off the M62 down an embankment onto a railway track, where it was struck by a passenger train heading to London. The accident was then compounded by a second collision involving an oncoming goods train. 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 refuse collector Mark Hobson . Hobson, 34 at
SECTION 10
#1732772733792684-540: Is on the main route north from the Midlands and is the traditional birthplace of King Henry I , fourth son of William the Conqueror , in 1068/69; the connection is supported by William and his wife Matilda 's unique joint charter of Selby Abbey , far to the north of their usual circuit of activities, which was founded for Benedict of Auxerre in 1069 and subsequently supported by the de Lacy family. King Henry I
741-540: Is reputed to have been born there in c. 1068 . 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 is often cited as an influence for the Stars and Stripes flag. It is said that the abbey was founded when Benedict saw three swans on a lake in Selby, which he took as
798-678: Is the Selby Times , owned and published by Chronicle Publications along with its sister paper the Goole Times . The company previously owned the Selby Post and purchased the title from Johnston Press when they ceased publication of the paper in August 2013. Published weekly, the paper costs 60p and covers the Selby district, including the town centre and villages such as Sherburn-in-Elmet and as far as Tadcaster . In 2014, despite
855-701: The River Ouse . At the 2021 Census , it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ; from 1974 until 2023, it was the administrative centre of the Selby District . Selby once had a large shipbuilding industry, and was an important port on the Selby Canal , which brought trade from Leeds . Archaeological investigations in Selby have revealed extensive remains, including waterlogged deposits in
912-547: The Yorkshire Football League and reached the first round of the FA Cup – meeting Bradford Park Avenue and getting their highest ever attendance of 7,000 fans. A rugby union club, Selby RUFC, plays at Sandhill Lane Stadium. Sandhill Lane Stadium is currently undergoing construction work to create a new seating stand overlooking the first team's pitch, and a gym and new changing rooms are being added to
969-617: The county council . In April 2023, both councils, along with all district councils in North Yorkshire, were replaced by North Yorkshire Council . The unitary authority now provides all the services previously provided separately by the two councils. In the United Kingdom Parliament, Selby formed part of the Selby constituency . It has been represented by Labour MP Keir Mather since July 2023, after he won
1026-584: The Barlby area has been alleviated to some extent by work on improved flood barriers following the major flood of November 2000. Selby Abbey is one of the largest parish churches in Britain and is larger than several cathedrals. There are various other Christian churches in the town that offer community and differing styles of worship: King's Church, St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Portholme Methodist / URC Church , and St James' Church. Edge Community
1083-479: The North Selby Mine was proposed as a renewable energy site, using waste as a feedstock for electricity generation. The initially proposed energy generation methods of incineration and gasification were dropped in 2011 with the plan had been modified to include a larger facility for anaerobic digestion , as well as using in vessel composting of organic waste. The plan was dropped and a new application
1140-488: The Ouse in 1998, a historical occasion which people around the area went to see. After Cochrane had closed the massive cranes still stood over the skyline of Selby until 2001, when very strong winds blew them down. Most of the shipyard buildings are still standing (as of February 2014) and the site, along with interviews with former employees and archive film, was featured in a 2013 video production 'Cochranes of Selby'. The site of
1197-681: The Selby Rugby League Referees Society. Selby Cricket Club, which shares Sandhill Lane Stadium, has four senior league teams, with the 1st and 2nd XI playing in the York and District Senior League, the 1st XI in Division 4 and the 2nd XI in Division 5. The 3rd XI play in Division 4 and 4th XI play in Division 5 of the York Vale League. The team runs two junior teams, the under 11s and 15s, which both play in
SECTION 20
#17327727337921254-573: The Three Swans Rally, based on local roads and forming a major part of local championships. Local news and television programmes is provided by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire from the Emley Moor TV transmitter. The town's local radio stations are BBC Radio York , Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire , Capital Yorkshire , YO1 Radio , and Selby Radio which is a community based radio station. Selby's longest-established newspaper
1311-588: The York and District Junior League, and an evening league team in the Howdenshire Evening League (West Division). Selby and District Motor Club has its own clubhouse at Breighton Airfield on Sand Lane. Meeting on Tuesday evenings, its members participate in Road Rallies, Stage Rallies, Sprints, Autotests and Production-Car Trials. Members discuss motor sporting events and regularly show videos. The club organises an annual Road Rally called
1368-479: The centre of the Selby Coalfield has also waned. Selby is close to both York and Leeds . Its popularity as a tourist destination, owing to Selby Abbey , has led to a large amount of development and renovation in the town and surrounding area. The residential areas of Selby have also been subject to expansion and development. A significant development called Staynor Hall continues to the south East of
1425-595: The core of the town dating from the Roman period onwards. It is believed that Selby originated as a settlement called Seletun, which was referred to in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of AD 779. The place name 'Selby' is first attested in a Yorkshire charter c. 1030 , where it appears as Seleby . It appears as Selbi c. 1050 . The name is thought to be a Scandinavian form of Seletun, meaning ' sallow tree settlement'. The town of Selby
1482-448: The defeat of the 1984–85 miners' strike . Wistow Colliery , which was part of the Selby Coalfield , holds the UK record for coal mined in one week—200,743 tonnes in 1995. The 110 square miles (280 km ) 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. UK Coal , the pit's owner, said closure
1539-518: The development of new shopping areas both in the town centre and on the outskirts. The Abbey Walk Shopping Centre was developed on recreational land that runs parallel to the town centre. The expansion not only increased the volume of town-centre shops but also provided large-scale, convenient parking for the town centre. In more recent years the Three Lakes Retail Park has opened on the outskirts of town and continues to expand. Two of
1596-560: The east (Wistow, North Selby, Riccall, Stillingfleet, and Whitemoor) which transferred their coal via tunnels to Gascoigne Wood. As part of the construction processes, the NCB paid for diversion of the East Coast Main Line from Selby (see Selby Diversion ) to avoid areas that could be subject to mining subsidence. Above ground equipment such as the winding gear was constructed enclosed by cladding and with limited height, to limit
1653-532: The last one closing in the early 1980s. In 2009 a community group established a cinema project called Selby Globe. The group is also working with local community groups in securing the Abbot's Staith , a 15th-century warehouse currently on English Heritage 's At Risk Register . It is expected that the development of the Abbot's Staith could offer opportunities for social, educational, historical and economic solutions for
1710-555: The legacy on site facilities, which includes a 12 MW electrical grid connection and the regeneration of the site into an industrial park. As of 2022 the site has not been redeveloped and is used as a storage facility for redundant HGV trailers. Download coordinates as: 2: The Selby Coalfield straddled the border of North and West Yorkshire Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire , England, 12 miles (19.3 km) south of York on
1767-501: The local area; it has a bus and railway station running services to many places around the area. Train services from Selby railway station run directly to London King's Cross , Leeds , Liverpool Lime Street , Manchester Piccadilly , York and Hull . Services are operated by several train operating companies ; these are London North Eastern Railway , Northern Trains , TransPennine Express and Hull Trains . Bus services are operated predominantly by Arriva Yorkshire , which runs
Selby Coalfield - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-404: The lowest level of governance is Selby Town Council. The town is divided into three electoral wards , north, south, each represented by five councillors, and west, represented by seven councillors. These 17 councillors are responsible for burial grounds, allotments, play areas and some street lighting. Elections to the town council are held every four years. The Mayor of Selby is elected annually by
1881-627: The members of the town council. From 1974 to 2023, Selby was administered as part of a two-tier council system by Selby District Council . The town was represented by seven councillors on the District Council , two each for the west and south wards and three for the north ward. On the North Yorkshire County Council the town was part of the Selby Barlby county division, which elected two representatives to
1938-725: The members' bar and existing club bar. Selby RUFC have five open-age teams and have veteran and junior set-ups. Selby 1st are currently in Yorkshire League Division One. In the season 2008–09 Selby U10s won the Gullivers Plate at Twickenham, the U16s got to the final of the Yorkshire Bowl and Selby 3rds reached a North Yorkshire final. Selby also has a rugby league club, Selby Warriors, which plays at The Rigid Containers Sports Ground, Foxhill Lane and
1995-623: The name of the National Coal Board (NCB) to the British Coal Corporation . With the passing of the Coal Industry Act 1994 , the 16th and last Coal Industry Act, the industry-wide administrative functions of British Coal were transferred to the new Coal Authority from 31 October 1994. All economic assets were privatised. The English mining operations were merged with RJB Mining to form UK Coal ,
2052-399: The pit was to supply coal for electrical power generation; much of it was used in the nearby Aire valley power stations . Mining peaked in 1993–4 at 12 million tonnes a year. The mines were acquired by RJB Mining in 1997 after the privatisation of the coal industry; loss of financial subsidy, geological problems, and low UK coal prices made the pits unprofitable by the 21st century. Closure
2109-565: The shift to online news, The Goole and Selby Times together were only one of three newspapers in the country actually to increase print sales. The Goole Times (incorporating the Selby Times ) saw a rise of more than three quarters to 15,045 compared with the same period in 2013. The Goole Times and Selby Times received an unprecedented 1,000 toys for their annual Christmas toy appeal in December 2017. In 2019 The Selby Chronicle
2166-537: The shipyard is currently home to many small businesses, housed in the buildings once used to build the Selby ships. For a time Selby was the leading coal- mining area 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
2223-489: The time, killed his girlfriend, Claire Sanderson, 27, and her 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 later sentenced to life imprisonment, with the trial judge recommending that he should never be released; the High Court later agreed with this recommendation. At
2280-518: The town is based on its position on the banks of the tidal River Ouse . Selby used to have a large shipbuilding industry and was an important port on the Selby Canal , which brought trade from Leeds. The Selby Canal links the River Ouse at Selby to the River Aire at Haddlesey. The replacement Greenpeace craft (1989–2011), bearing the name Rainbow Warrior , was built in Selby in 1957 as
2337-698: The town while also promoting tourism. Selby's major sporting team is Selby Town F.C. ('the Robins'), playing in the Northern Counties East Division One at the Flaxley Road Stadium. As a result of a sponsorship deal with a local business, the stadium is now known as the Fairfax Plant Hire Stadium. The club was founded in 1919 and their most successful season was perhaps 1953–54, when they won
Selby Coalfield - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-487: The town's supermarkets, Tesco and Morrisons , are looking to expand their stores, the latter meaning the resiting of the Abbey Primary School. On 14 September 2005, Selby District Council was conditionally granted outline planning permission for a state of the art science facility to be built on the site of Burn Gliding Club but these plans did not come to fruition. Selby is the transport hub for
2451-494: The town, with other developments in the Holmes Lane area and around the villages of Brayton, Barlby and Thorpe Willoughby. More have been built at various points along the riverfront, the result of an ongoing project to improve an area that had been largely derelict since the decline of the shipbuilding industry. In recent years there have been serious flood problems in Selby and the adjoining village of Barlby . The threat in
2508-501: The visual impact on the environment, which was a predominately rural landscape. Shafts for the pits were first sunk in the late 1970s, and in 1983 the Wistow Mine began production. The workforce was planned from the outset to be transferred from 11 collieries that were nearing exhaustion in the area around Wakefield and Rothwell , starting in 1978-9 with the transfer of miners from Walton Colliery, near Wakefield. The collation of
2565-626: The workforce was due to be completed by 1986, but the Nostell miners did not transfer until 1987 and the process was not finished until the transfer of the Sharlston miners in 1993. Large car parks were built to facilitate commuting. The new mine produced no coal in 1984/5 due to the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) . Gascoigne Wood was the scene of clashes between pickets and police . Output steadily rose from 1984 to 1994, reaching 10 million tonnes
2622-417: Was 4.4 million tonnes p.a. Between 1995 and 1999, the operation turned from being successfully profitable to loss-making, with the first loss recorded in 1999; relatively fixed costs associated with the single exit-point at Gascoigne Wood meant that the mine became less profitable as production was reduced at the five pits. By 2000, the loss was £30 million p.a. and it received no subsidy; in 2002, it
2679-448: Was a major element of the plan. Exploratory drilling in the Selby area had taken place in the 1960s, and detailed exploration was carried out in the early 1970s, showing that a northern extension of the ' Barnsley Seam ' was present and between 1.9 and 3.25 m thick, resulting in an estimate of 600 million tonnes of coal in the seam, with total estimated coal reserves of 2,000 million tonnes. Open extraction would have required
2736-513: Was announced by UK Coal that the Selby coalfield would close in 2003/4. Mining ended in 2004 at Wistow (May), Stillingfleet (July), and Riccall (October). The total amount of coal mined was 121 million tonnes. The Gascoigne Wood Mine site is the largest, with 44 ha (110 acres) developable land, and best connected of the former mine sites, with rail connection onto the former Leeds and Selby Railway (Leeds-Hull Line) including sidings for trains of up to 775 m. On site facilities include
2793-702: Was announced in 2002, and mining completely ceased by 2004. In 1974, the Labour Government and National Coal Board (NCB), backed by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) initiated a decade-long, ambitious expansion of coal production, named the Plan for Coal ; the plan was based on maximising income from indigenous coal reserves, at a time when oil prices had risen ( 1973 oil crisis ) to above that of coal. The plan included continued closure of older pits, and investment in new capacity; Selby Coalfield
2850-471: Was captured by Parliamentarians in the Battle of Selby on 11 April 1644. There are other historical sites, such as the cholera burial ground on the north side of the abbey, the market cross and the local school, Selby High School . The Market Place has existed since the early 14th century, when the market was moved away from the monastery churchyard. The Crescent which curves eastwards from James Street,
2907-507: Was delayed owing to technical difficulties with the swing bridge over the River Ouse, but was eventually completed in July 2004. Selby Town Hall has been running a music venue since 2003, with regular performances of music, dance, drama and comedy and local band nights, with an annual Battle Of The Bands final, which in 2009 sold out in 12 hours, seeing local band Leonard's Revenge crowned victors. There have been four cinemas in Selby, with
SECTION 50
#17327727337922964-480: 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. Although much of the infrastructure of shipbuilding and coal mining remains both in and around Selby, both industries have long since been defunct. Now the main income for the area is derived from arable farming and as a commuter area for Leeds , Wakefield and York . In recent years Selby has seen
3021-496: Was formally inaugurated by the Duchess of Kent in 1976. Initial estimates were for a construction cost of £400 million, with 4,000 people employed, with extraction beginning in the early 1980s and lasting for 40 years, producing 10 million tons per year. The scheme used an unusual arrangement of pits in the coal field – all coal was brought to the surface at the drift mine of Gascoigne Wood, whilst five pits were created to
3078-659: Was founded in 2009 for the Flaxley Road community, and The Salvation Army opened The Church at the Crossroads on the Abbotts Road estate in 2015. Brayton has St Wilfrid's Anglican Church and the Methodist Chapel and All Saints' Church is in Barlby. Thorpe Willoughby has St Francis Church. Selby Churches Together set up and run the Selby and District Food Bank. Much of the historical wealth of
3135-459: Was planned in the early 19th century by a local man, John Audus, after he saw Lansdown Crescent in Bath , Somerset . Selby is expanding. New houses and shops are being built on the outskirts as far as the bypass, which has resulted in the loss of some trade from the town centre. Meanwhile, the riverfront is being revamped with modern housing and fashionable flats. The 2001 Great Heck rail crash
3192-399: Was put forward to redevelop the land as leisure accommodation. As of early 2012 Stillingfleet Mine has been partially redeveloped, being used for extraction and generation from coal mine gas, further redevelopment as a waste sorting centre is being sought. As of early 2012 Wistow Mine has not been redeveloped, land manager Harworth Group , is seeking redevelopment of the site which utilises
3249-556: Was relaunched as an online-only newspaper. Selby is twinned with: British Coal The British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation responsible for the mining of coal in the United Kingdom from 1987 until it was effectively dissolved in 1997. The corporation was created by renaming its predecessor, the National Coal Board (NCB). The Coal Industry Act 1987 (c. 3) changed
#791208