Goole is a

port town A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

on the River Ouse in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, England. The town's historic county is the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. According to the

2011 UK census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increase on the

2001 UK census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

figure of 17,600. It is north-east of

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, south of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and west of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. The town has the United Kingdom's furthest inland port, being about from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. It is capable of handling nearly 2 million tonnes of cargo per year, making it one of the most important ports on England's east coast. Goole is twinned with Złotów in Poland. Goole was informally twinned with

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in the 1960s; at that time, Gibraltar Court was named in Goole and Goole Court was named in Gibraltar.

History

Etymology

Goole is first attested in 1306, as ''Gull Lewth'' (where ''lewth'' means 'barn', from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''hlaða''), and then 1362 as ''Gulle in Houke (referring to the nearby, and then more significant, village of Hook). The name is first attested in its shorter, modern form, from the 1530s. It comes from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

word ''goule'' (or an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

ancestor), meaning 'a channel made by a stream'. The word has sometimes been taken to imply that Goole is named after an open sewer, but there is no strong basis for this.

Background

The Dutch civil engineer Cornelius Vermuyden diverted the River Don northwards to the River Ouse in 1626–1629 in order to drain the marshland of

Hatfield Chase Hatfield Chase is a low-lying area in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, England, which was often flooded. It was a royal hunting ground until Charles I appointed the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to drain it in 1626. The work involved ...

at the behest of King Charles I. It made the new lower Don – known as the Dutch River – navigable for

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s so that

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

from the

South Yorkshire Coalfield The South Yorkshire Coalfield is so named from its position within Yorkshire. It covers most of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and a small part of North Yorkshire. The exposed coalfield outcrops in the Pennine foothills and dips under Permian ro ...

could be transported to the new confluence for transfer to seagoing vessels. There the engineers built a new wooden bridge – rebuilt in iron in the 1890s and now known as the Dutch River Bridge – to the east of which a new village called 'Goole' formed.

Development

In the 1820s the Aire and Calder Navigation company proposed development of a new canal to transport coal from the existing broad canal from

Knottingley Knottingley is a market town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the old A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road before it was bypassed as the A1(M). Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Ridi ...

in the northern sector of the coalfield in 1826. Once it reached Goole the company proposed development of a new

floating dock Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological phe ...

capable of handling larger sea-going vessels. Chief engineer Thomas Hamond Bartholomew was instructed to build the canal, docks and an associated company town to house both the dock workers and visiting seamen. Bartholomew commissioned civil engineer and builder Sir Edward Banks company to construct part of the canal and the eight transshipment docks and to lay out the associated new town to the west of the existing wooden bridge. The Banks Arms Hotel on Aire Street – today known as the Lowther Hotel - was in 1824 the first building constructed in what was known as New Goole; ''The Macintosh Arms''

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

on the same street took its name from engineer Hugh Macintosh. When Goole port opened on 20 July 1826 it was a new community of about 450 people. Now it is a town with about 18,000 inhabitants. TomPuddingHoist

William Hamond Bartholomew succeeded his father T. H. Bartholomew in 1853 and in 1863 introduced the

Tom Pudding Tom Pudding was the name given to the tub boats on the Aire and Calder Navigation, introduced in 1863 and used until 1985, which were a very efficient means of transferring and transporting coal from the open cast collieries of the South Yorkshir ...

system of compartment boats, which could carry around of coal. On reaching the docks the barges were lifted by large hoists, from which they could be discharged direct into seagoing ships, a system so successful that it competed against rail until 1985.

Education

Goole has several

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s as well as

Goole High School Goole Academy, is a mixed 11–18 secondary school located in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated just off the A614 road in the east of Goole. History The school's original motto was ''Alta Pete'', Latin for "Aim High". ...

, with a sixth-form college attached to it, and a special needs school, Riverside School, that caters for 2-19 year olds. Goole College is affiliated with

Hull College Hull College is a Further Education and Higher Education establishment based in Kingston upon Hull, England. It provides vocational courses, apprenticeships, Higher Education and adult learning courses, with a focus on equipping young peopl ...

. There are

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

colleges in Selby,

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...

, and

Bishop Burton Bishop Burton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies on the A1079 road approximately to the west of the market town of Beverley. According to the 2011 UK census, Bishop Burton parish had a population ...

. Goole College runs a scheme for showing the older students at the High School (in year 10 and above) what opportunities the college offers them.

Transport

The

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. It was incorporated in 1847 from an amalgamation of several existing railways. It was the third-largest railway system based in northern ...

built a line from

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

and

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

in 1848 and the North Eastern Railway connected the port with

and

in 1870. The prosperity from the coal and general cargo trade with the West Riding industrial area continued for 150 years after the opening of the canal. Today

Goole railway station Goole railway station is a railway station in town of Goole on the Hull and Doncaster Branch in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The station and its passenger services are managed and provided by Northern. Lines from Goole run north to t ...

is at the junction of the

Hull and Doncaster Branch The Hull and Doncaster Branch is a secondary main railway line in England, connecting Kingston upon Hull to South Yorkshire and beyond via a branch from the Selby Line near Gilberdyke to a connection to the Doncaster–Barnetby line at a junctio ...

and the Pontefract Line. Services are provided to Hull Paragon Interchange,

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

and the commuter stations in between. Goole is south of the M62 linking it with Kingston upon Hull in the east and

and the

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

urban belt in the west. To the north the A63 road via Howden provides local access to the A19 road to Selby and

. The M18 runs west of the town, connecting it with

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

. Bus services to surrounding towns and villages are provided by East Yorkshire Motor Services,

Stagecoach in Hull Stagecoach in Hull is a bus operator providing services in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach East Midlands, a subdivision of the Stagecoach Group. History Stagecoach in Hull's origins ...

and Arriva Yorkshire.

Governance

Before the reform of local government in 1974, brought about by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Goole was in the

. It was then placed in the

Boothferry Boothferry is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Ouse where the A614 road crosses the river. It is about north-west of Goole. Boothferry is split between civil parishes; areas ...

district of the county of

Humberside Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West ...

until that was abolished in 1996. Since 1996 Goole has been in the

. It is represented by four councillors on the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Goole is in the parliamentary constituency of Brigg and Goole, which has been represented in the House of Commons since

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Andrew Percy Andrew Theakstone Percy (born 18 September 1977) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brigg and Goole since 2010. He is an active member of many groups in Parliament, including All Part ...

, a Conservative.

Landmarks

Goole's most prominent landmarks are its twin

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

s, nicknamed 'salt' and 'pepper'. The new white water-tower was the largest in Europe at the time of construction. In the winter months Goole's gas holder on Anderson Road is visible across the north of the town. Many of the hoists and

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname), ...

on the dockside can be seen across the town. The steeple of Goole Parish Church is tall enough to be seen across the town. The townscape is made up mostly of utility and industrial structures. There is a clock tower in the main shopping district of the town on a roundabout on the site of the former open-air marketplace. West Park is an Edwardian park in the town.

Economy

Goole has a modestly sized town centre with many high street shops, independent retailers and

s. The main shopping area is Wesley Square, off Boothferry Road (which has been pedestrianised around the main shopping area). There is a modern retail development in the town centre, a leisure centre next to the docks and the

Goole and District Hospital Goole and District Hospital is a hospital in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is managed by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital, which replaced several smaller local hospitals, was purp ...

, to the north of the town. A theatre and cinema, 'Junction', opened in 2009.

Industry

Glass is produced in Goole, which is also the centre of an agricultural district. The town's former large employer was a clothing manufacture for the big multiples but it closed in the late 2000s. Goole's industrial park, Capitol Park / Goole36, has attracted two large employers:

Guardian Industries Guardian Industries is a privately held industrial manufacturer of glass, automotive and building products based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company manufactures float glass, fabricated glass products, fiberglass insulat ...

, which built a glass-manufacturing plant, and

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

, which built a distribution centre. The arrival of these employers resulted in the creation of hundreds of new jobs. A new

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqua ...

store opened in Goole on 2 August 2010, on land previously occupied by Timms Mill on Boothferry Road. A new railway

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

factory was built at the same location during 2018/2019. The plant, owned and operated by

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

, builds the new tube trains for the

Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are n ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Docks

Three locks keep the water in of floating docks at a constant depth of by preventing the level from rising and falling with the tides in the River Ouse. Once ships are within the complex, eight docks provide a total quayside of . Beside the docks are transit sheds where cargo is stored, many of them equipped with overhead cranes. Unlike many ports every one of the eight docks has been in full commercial operation since its construction in the period from 1826 to 1912. For most of its life the port was most associated with the shipment of coal and associated cargoes, including the importation of pit props. With the demise of mining the former Timber Pond became a marina, trading under the name Goole Boathouse. It has berths for 150 boats. After a period of decline commodities were replaced by containers, the export of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

and the import of timber from north-eastern Europe. Today the Port of Goole has regular

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

services to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Morocco and South Africa and a transshipment route to Europort,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Sport

Goole Town Cricket Club supports local cricket teams. Of its three teams, the first team plays in the club cricket York & District Senior League. A new clubhouse was constructed in 1996 providing facilities and a bar. Rugby Union is played close to the cricket club at Westfield Banks, sharing facilities with Goole Tennis Club and Goole Viking Striders running club. Goole RUFC currently fields two teams, the first team playing in Yorkshire Division Two. Goole Tennis Centre is a nine-court tennis club on the Westfield Banks site. Goole has two

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

teams -

Goole A.F.C. Goole Association Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Victoria Pleasure Grounds. History The club was established by Mike Norman in ...

and Goole United A.F.C. They currently play in the

Northern Premier League Division One South The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

and the Humber Premier League Division One respectively. They both play at the Victoria Pleasure Grounds on Marcus Street. The nearest professional teams are Rotherham United, Doncaster Rovers, Grimsby Town, Hull City, Leeds United,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, Sheffield United and York City. Goole used to have two golf clubs. The early course, founded in 1900, was at Rawcliffe Park. The later course was at Airmyn Park from 1911 to the Second World War. Currently Goole's nearest golf clubs are the Boothferry Golf Club in

Spaldington Spaldington is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, lying approximately north from the market town of Howden and south of York. It lies to the west of the A614 road. Geography The civil parish lies in the Vale ...

and Drax Golf Club in Drax.

Media

Radio Medica is a not-for-profit radio station broadcast from the Goole And District Hospital. The town is served by a weekly

tabloid Tabloid may refer to: * Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism * Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size ** Chinese tabloid * Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size * Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft * ''Ta ...

newspaper, '' The Goole Times'', published since 1853 and sold in Goole and neighbouring parts of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The town is referenced by the play An Inspector Calls, where the main character is named after the town of Goole

Notable people

* Nigel Adams, Member of Parliament for

Selby and Ainsty Selby and Ainsty is a constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by Nigel Adams, a member of the Conservative Party. History For 2010 the Boundary Commission recommended t ...

, born in Goole Hospital * Gavin Bryars, composer and double bassist, born in Goole *

Roy Clarke Royston Clarke Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 28 January 1930), usually known as Roy Clarke, is an English comedy writer best known for creating the sitcoms ''Last of the Summer Wine'', ''Keeping Up Appearances'', ''Open All Hours'' a ...

, comedy writer, lives in Goole * Betty, Hazel and Julie Dunderdale, who performed professionally as

The Dale Sisters The Dale Sisters were an English vocal trio, who had limited chart success in the early 1960s. They are best remembered for their recordings of " Heartbeat" and "My Sunday Baby (un Telegrama)", both of which became minor hits in the UK Single ...

, a

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

trio that had limited

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

success in the early 1960s *

Anne Greaves Anne Greaves (18891971), was the first woman to become a member of the Institute of Quarrying and created artificial stone through her quarrying company. Early life Born Annie Harris in Goole, Yorkshire in 1889 to musician John Harris, Greave ...

(1889–1971) was the first woman to become a member of the Institute of Quarrying and created artificial stone through her quarrying company * Adi Vines, bassist for the band Swervedriver, born in Goole *

Sandra's Wedding Sandra's Wedding are a three piece alternative rock group from Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire. They are made up of members Joe Hodgson (Vocals), Jonny Hughes (Guitars) and Luke Harrison (drums). They released their first album physically and ...

, a four-piece

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from Goole

Gallery

File:Goole - Catholic Church (geograph 3211579).jpg, St Joseph's Catholic Church File:Market Hall Goole.jpg, Market Hall

References

General

* *

External links

Goole Town Council

Goole Civic Society

Riverside School, Goole
{{authority control Ports and harbours of Yorkshire Port cities and towns of the North Sea Civil parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire Towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire