2, Gowthorpe

Summary

A shop of the early to mid-C18, with C19 and late C20 alterations.

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 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. Burgage plots used to extend on the northern side of the street as far as Selby Dam. The building dates from the early to mid-C18; it has a steeply pitched roof that is parallel to Gowthorpe and the eaves appear to have been raised during the C19. A passageway entry on the eastern side of the adjacent The New Inn (4 Gowthorpe) provided access to the rear of this property and several properties on Finkle Street. During the early C20, it was a double-fronted shop that was operated by W J Hanley as The Corset Warehouse. It retained the double-fronted shopfront until the late C20, when it was opened up internally into 1 Finkle Street, had three new windows installed, and lost its doorway.

Details

A shop of the early to mid-C18, with C19 and late C20 alterations.

MATERIALS: hand-made brick (painted), with pantile roof, timber windows.

EXTERIOR: the two-storey, four-bay facade to Gowthorpe has alternate raised quoins at the right, up to the original eaves level. The ground floor is fitted with a late C20 three-bay shopfront, which references late-C19 styles. The first floor has four narrow segmental-headed, flush-framed, four-pane horned sashes with exposed moulded sash boxes. Deep eaves with stepped brick brackets at each end support cast-iron rainwater goods that drain into a decorative hopper (which also serves the attached New Inn, 4 Gowthorpe, NHLE 1167217). The steeply-pitched roof is clad in pantiles and has a pair of flat-topped dormers, fitted with four-pane casements. The upper sections of the two gable ends are exposed above the roofs of the adjacent properties and are made of clamp bricks.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

325757

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Morrell, WW, The History and Antiquities of Selby, (1867)
Chilvers, R, Selby Shops Past and Present, (2015)
Chrystal, P, Selby & Goole Through Time, (2012), 7 and 16

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

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