Selby
North Yorkshire
Before the previous local government reorganisation in 1974, Selby was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, as was most of the wider district except for a part east of the River Ouse which was in the East Riding.
Selby is 8 miles east of
The River Ouse, which runs along the north-east edge of the town has played an important role in its growth, as has its historic abbey.
Both Romans and Vikings used the River Ouse which flows through Selby between York and the Humber estuary, but the town's rise to prominence came after the Norman invasion of 1066. Selby is considered by historians to be the likely birthplace in 1068 of Henry, the fourth son of King William I (William the Conqueror), who became King Henry I in 1100. In 1069 the Benedictine monastery was founded in Selby and the abbey church still survives in the town, as outlined in more detail below.
On April 11, 1644 the town was the scene of the English Civil War Battle of Selby as Parliamentary forces gained control of the town and its routes to York and Hull through a defensive ring of barricades and flooded fields. From Selby they were able to continue their advance towards York, the King's main centre in the north.
Selby later became an important port on the River Ouse with associated industries including boatbuilding, rope-making, flour milling and many others. For a period in the late 18th century it became an exceptionally busy port after it became the junction of the navigable River Ouse and the then-new Selby Canal, a by-pass of the meandering tidal lower section of the River Aire and thus carrying much of the boat traffic of the industrial West Riding of Yorkshire. Further canal building, however, was to later see that traffic going to Goole rather than Selby.
The area around Selby includes much agricultural land, but from 1976 and 2004, the town was the centre of the Selby coalfield, which produced coal from underground seams, mostly to feed nearby coal-fired power stations
Town features











Find opening times at this
NYCC Selby Library webpage.




Find out more about the Selby Canal at the





More information at the

Sport





Entertainment
Selby Town Hall
York Street
A variety of music, comedy and theatre is staged at Selby Town Hall

Places to visit
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


Yorkshire Air Museum
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

Find

York
Selby is just over 14 miles south of Yorkshire's principal city by road and is in easy reach by train, bus or car. Find out more about the historic city on our
Travel
Selby
Between 1871 and 1983, Selby was a station on the East Coast Mainline, but this was diverted away from the town in 1983 to avoid potential subsidence in the Selby coalfield, but there are still trains southbound to London and via the diverted route northbound to York.
Eastbound platform:
West, North or Southbound platforms:
Train details from December 15, 2019. Services may serve intermediate stations in addition to those mentioned.
Station managed by TransPennine Express.

Bus services
Road travel
The A19 runs through Selby town centre, linking the town to
Emergency services
North Yorkshire Police 
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Local government
Town council
Selby Town Council is based at the Town Hall, York Street, and is in charge of the Town Hall, Selby Cemetery, allotments and some play areas. It manages a community centre for the Selby Community Trust and is also responsible for community woodland and a farmhouse and issues grants to local organisations. The council is made up of 18 councillors elected across four wards. A town mayor and deputy mayor are elected by the council each year.

Unitary authority
The North Yorkshire Council is a new unitary authority formed from the previous County Council from April 1, 2023. It covers the existing county duties including highways, schools, libraries and transport planning over an area of 3,109 square miles while also taking over the responsibilities of the seven huge district authorities also created in 1974 — Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby — these including local planning, waste collection, street cleaning, parks and car parks, housing and markets serving a population of around 615,500*.
Councillors were elected to the County Council in 2022 and continue as councillors of the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority. There have been a few by-elections to fill councillor vacancies since then.
Places in
North Yorkshire

Link to council website:
North Yorkshire Council


Political composition:
CI = Conservative & Independent NY Ind = North Yorkshire Independents group LC = Labour & Cooperative
Composition and groupings - source North Yorkshire Council (February 2024)
Strategic authority
York and North Yorkshire Combined AuthorityThe York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was created in December 2023 combining the unitary authority of York and the unitary authority of North Yorkshire — that created in April 2023 after the abolition of the county authority and its seven district authorities. The combined authority will run some functions under the new mayor elected in May 2024 as part of the government's so-called "Devolution deal" which ties the availablity of funding to the new governance arrangements. As well as having powers over housing development, transport and boosting skills and education across the 3,214 square miles of York and North Yorkshire, the elected mayor also takes on the role and functions of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner across the area.
Elected mayor:

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North YorkshireCovers the county of


Parliamentary constituency
SelbyElected MP: