​Journal-commissioned artist David Work continues his tour of the East Riding in Selby. But how much do you know about this historic town . . ?

Close to the East Riding border, historically part of Yorkshire’s West Riding and currently in the southern most district of the non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire, it could be argued that Selby suffers from some sort of identity crisis.

Nothing could be further from the truth and it remains an attractive, vibrant and expanding town.

According to its own website (www.selbyonline.co.uk), it is not known exactly when Selby was founded, although it’s thought a small number of Anglo-Vikings lived there in a settlement known as Seleby. The name is derived from the Saxon word for the Willow Copes which were found on the banks of the River Ouse, “Sele”, with “by” being the Viking word for town.

The website tells us: “In around 1069, Monk Benedict of Auxerre, France, arrived in Selby after experiencing a vision in which St. Germain appeared and told him to build an abbey where he saw three swans leaving the river. The three swans have been the emblem of the church and the town ever since.

“Over time, the initial wooded abbey gave way to a new stone construction and eventually grew into a huge monastic complex with a chapel, cloisters, workshops, dormitory, infirmary, brew-house, stables, barns and more. The whole complex was surrounded by huge walls and impressive gateways.

“Sadly, other than the abbey church itself, very little of the complex exists today. The Gateway to the complex, standing close to the modern day market place, was demolished in 1806.

“The Abbot’s Staithe is one of the last remaining monastic structures and is still standing today, albeit in a shockingly poor state of repair. The Abbot's Staithe, which can be found on The Quay (off Micklegate) has been listed by the Secretary of State as an Ancient Monument.”

Over the years, Selby has been a centre for many industries. It was initially believed to have benefited from a flourishing local wool trade; later there was a proud history of shipbuilding. Probably the most well-known of ships launched in the town is Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior II. Although originally launched as a fishing trawler called the Grampian Fame in 1957, it was converted for use by Greenpeace in 1989.

The next phase of industry in Selby came in 1976 when plans were approved for the Selby Coalfield. This was to be the largest deep mine coal project ever undertaken anywhere in the world at the time. The coalfield, covering 110 miles, was roughly the size of the Isle of Wight.

Ten shafts were sunk across the coalfield, the largest coalfield in Europe, with over 120 miles of underground roadways. The project was built at a cost of £1.3billion.

The seams were not easy to mine however, with water causing problems throughout the time the field was in operation. The final load of coal to be brought out of the Selby “Superpit” was at Riccall Mine. The mine closed on 26th October, 2004 – a total of 3,500 people had been employed at the coalfield at its peak.