Eggborough

North Yorkshire

Eggborough is a village in the Selby district of North Yorkshire.

Eggborough is about 6 miles south-west of Selby, 4 miles east of Knottingley and 7 from Pontefract in West Yorkshire and around 5 miles west of Snaith and 10 miles west of Goole in the East Riding. The South Yorkshire border lies around 5 miles to the south of the village.

The village has a poorly-served railway station at Whitley Bridge, where the Knottingley and Goole Canal is crossed towards the smaller village of Whitley, which now lies mostly beyond junction 34 of the M62 motorway. The canal forms part of the Aire and Calder Navigation which in the early days of the industrial revolution provided an important link from industrial towns of the West Riding to the port of Goole.

While the area has a long history of agriculture, small industries including a flour mill developed at Eggborough.

In the 1960s the village changed dramatically with the building of a large coal-fired power station with its associated cooling towers. The station was officially opened by the then Central Electricity Generating Board in 1970, a time when the nearby Selby coalfield was about to see a major expansion in production.

Mining ended in 2004 but the power station continued to operate with coal brought by rail and road by a succession of private owners. The power station was acquired in 2015 by a Czech Republic-based company. A number of closure plans and reprieves saw it continuing to produce some power until 2018 and a future plan has been drawn up for a new gas-fired power station at the site. In August 2021, four of the eight landmark cooling towers were demolished as part of site redevelopment plans.

Industry has also expanded in Eggborough since 2000 with a large glass factory. An associated insulation board factory has also recently been built there.

Village features

Eggborough is on the Aire and Calder Navigation - (Knottingley and Goole Canal).

Eggborough has a pub.

Eggborough has a village store and local traders.

The village has a Post Office.

The village has tea-rooms.

Takeaway food outlets in the village include fish and chips, chicken, pizzas, burgers, kebabs.

The village has a visiting mobile library.

The village has a pharmacy.

Eggborough has a village hall.

Places of worship: Methodist, other.

Eggborough was formerly in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Travel

Whitley Bridge station (near Eggborough)

Whitley Bridge stationWhitley Bridge station is at the edge of the village of Eggborough.

Few trains stop at this station. As at August 2021 the train service at this station was two trains towards Leeds per day (Mon-Sat) and one train towards Goole. (Bus replacements August 27 to September 4, 2021).
Station managed by: NORTHERN. Operator/s: NORTHERN.

NORTHERN - Departure and station info
Link to Northern - external website providing information on all services at this station.

Bus travel

The village has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.

Road travel

Eggborough can be reached via the M62 A19 A645

Places to visit

Selby Abbey

The Crescent, Selby
The church of Selby Abbey can trace its history back nearly 1,000 years and many English kings visited the abbey over its lifetime. It is a rare survivor as an abbey church, which was built at a Benedictine monastery founded in 1069. The church was begun around the start of the 12th century, but has seen many changes over its years. The church was restored after a major fire in 1340 and there were further alterations in the 15th century. Selby was apparently treated favourably by King Henry VIII at the time of the monastery's Dissolution surrender in December 1539 and the church was left intact. There has however been considerable damage and restoration since that time, including the collapse of its central tower in 1690 which also destroyed the south transept. The tower was rebuilt in around 1701 by a local builder in the style of the time. In the mid-19th century there was substantial restoration of the church, but the abbey was extensively damaged by a fire in 1906. A complete restoration took place in the following years, followed by the rebuilding of the south transept, which was consecrated in 1912. Today the abbey church of St Mary and St Germain continues to be an active parish church at the centre of its local community.

More information at

Selby Abbey website

Skipwith Common

Situated four mile north-east of Selby, Skipwith Common is a National Nature Reserve and Special Area of Conservation as one of a few remaining areas of lowland heath in northern England. The common features a 270 hectare ancient landscape including a huge variety of plants and animals and small signs of around 4,000 years of human impact, such as bronze and iron age burial mounds. Skipwith Common is managed by the landowner, the Escrick Park Estate, in partnership with Natural England and is supported by a Friends group.

Information at

Friends of Skipwith Common website and

Escrick Park Estate website.

Yorkshire Air Museum

Halifax Way, Elvington, near York
The Yorkshire Air Museum is at the former RAF Elvington, about 3 miles south-west of York. During World War II it was an RAF Bomber Command Station used by Allied bomber crews, including French Air Force squadrons. The museum now situated there has a huge range of exhibits taking visitors from the earliest pioneers of aviation, including Yorkshireman George Cayley, through both World Wars and the Cold War era. More than 60 aircraft and flight-related vehicles are on show at the airfield. The museum is also the location of the Allied Air Forces Memorial, commemorating all allied airmen and women.
More details at the

Yorkshire Air Museum website.
Find

Yorkshire Air Museum on map.

York

The Selby district is not far from Yorkshire's principal city by road with bus and in some places train connections. Find out more about the historic city on our York page.

Emergency services

North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police website.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

Local government

Civil parish council

Eggborough Parish Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:

Eggborough Parish Council

District authority

Selby District Council
The southernmost district of North Yorkshire is centred on Selby and also includes the towns of Tadcaster and Sherburn in Elmet and many villages.

The district is a mostly rural area and has boundaries with the City of York unitary authority, the East Riding of Yorkshire unitary authority, the Doncaster district of South Yorkshire, Wakefield and Leeds districts of West Yorkshire and its shortest border with the North Yorkshire district of Harrogate.

The council is made up of 31 councillors who are elected each four years across 19 wards. There are between one and three councillors per ward.

The North Yorkshire County Council will absorb the services of Selby District Council and six other district councils as a unitary authority area of more than 3,100 square miles from April 2023.

Link to Selby District Council website.

The political composition of the council after the May 2019 election was:

1684YP 3

31 members YP = Yorkshire Party

County authority

North Yorkshire County Council
Includes the Selby district and six other non-unitary districts of North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire County Council website.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire
Covers the county of North Yorkshire and City of York.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire website.

Ceremonial county

North Yorkshire

Historic

1894-1974: Within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
1974-present: Within Selby district of the county of North Yorkshire.

Also in Yorkshire.guide

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