7 and 9, Gowthorpe

Summary

Pair of early- to mid-C19 commercial properties with accommodation above, and rear ranges, altered in the C19, C20 and C21.

History

Selby as a settlement dates to the Anglo-Saxon period, when it was known as Seletun (old Scandinavian for ‘sallow tree settlement’) and was referred to by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of AD 779. A charter of about 1030 called it Seleby and about 1050 it was Selbi. King Henry I was born in Selby in 1068 and, a year later, Benedict, a French monk from Auxerre, obtained permission from King William to establish an Abbey. The Market Place has existed since the early C14. By the C15, Selby had developed thriving trade links along the East Coast and with the Low Countries. Selby Abbey succumbed to dissolution in 1539, and the core of the building became the parish church in 1618.

Selby’s commercial importance grew dramatically following the opening of the Selby Canal in 1778, becoming a notable inland port; however, after the building of Goole Docks in 1826, it suffered a very rapid decline. The town’s fortunes recovered in 1834, with the opening of the Leeds and Selby Railway, and by the early C20, witnessed a growth in several industries served by the railways and river traffic, including flour milling, malting, oilseed milling and cattle feed production. In 1983, coal production commenced from the Selby Coalfield. Shipbuilding ended ten years later, and coal mining ceased in 2004. Since then, there has been a gradual reduction in the traditional industries, although some remain.

By the C18, Gowthorpe had become the principal shopping street of Selby, leading directly onto the marketplace and Selby Abbey. It was also the main thoroughfare to Leeds. Medieval burgage plots used to extend on both sides of the street and the original plan of the two shops and their rear ranges probably matched the width of these plots. By the early to mid-C19 the two shops formed part of a terrace of shops on the southern side of Gowthorpe, set between New Lane and Audus Street. The 1849 Ordnance Survey town map shows that each shop had a roughly square plan with matching rear ranges; however, by 1890, both properties had been extended considerably to the rear and were, by then, fitted with a double-fronted shop window, which remained in place until the late C20. As with most shops, they have been occupied by different retailers over time. It is known that, during the 1930s, these shops were occupied by Pipers Bazaar and Hunters Tea Stores.

Details

Commercial properties formerly with accommodation above and with rear ranges, of the early- to mid-C19 and altered in the C19, C20 and C21.

MATERIALS: fair-faced brown bricks, slate to front roof pitch, pantiles to rear pitch and ranges.

PLAN: three-storey front range aligned east-west, with long one- and two-storey rear ranges.

EXTERIOR: the front facade is of three storeys and four bays, in Flemish Bond brickwork. The ground floor of number 7 has a late-C19 style double-fronted shop window, while number 9 has a modern shopfront with brick surrounds, both with plain fascias. Above this are four windows to each floor, all six-over-six flush-framed sash windows with horns, and all with painted projecting stone sills and flush wedge lintels. The rendered west gable is partially obscured by an adjacent attached property and only the gable is fully exposed. The pitched roof is clad in Welsh slate, with PVC rainwater goods supported by a timber bracketed eaves board. A truncated brick chimney stack abuts the adjacent property to the east, at the ridge.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

325743

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Chilvers, R, Selby Shops Past and Present, (2015)

Other
1:1056 Town Map, 1849
1:500 Town Map, 1890-91

End of official list entry

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