Howden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Howden (disambiguation)
| Howden | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Statistics | ||
| Population: | 3,810 (2001 Census) | |
| Ordnance Survey | ||
| OS grid reference: | SE749281 | |
| Administration | ||
| District: | East Riding of Yorkshire | |
| Region: | Yorkshire and the Humber | |
| Constituent country: | England | |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom | |
| Other | ||
| Ceremonial county: | East Riding of Yorkshire | |
| Historic county: | Yorkshire | |
| Services | ||
| Police force: | Humberside Police | |
| Fire and rescue service: | {{{Fire}}} | |
| Ambulance service: | Yorkshire | |
| Post office and telephone | ||
| Post town: | GOOLE | |
| Postal district: | DN14 | |
| Dialling code: | 01430 | |
| Politics | ||
| UK Parliament: | Haltemprice and Howden | |
| European Parliament: | Yorkshire and the Humber | |
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Howden is a small market town in the East Riding of Yorkshire, lying next to the M62 approximately five miles north of Goole and twenty one miles south of York. Howden holds a significant historical importance, William the Conqueror giving the town to the Bishops of Durham in 1080 [1]. The wapentake of Howdenshire was named after the town, the Bishops of Durham also owning the wapentake.
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[edit] Early history
One of the earliest recorded parts of Howden's history is King Edgar of England giving his first wife, Ethelfleda , Howden Manor in 959 A.D. [2], the beginnings of a long connection with the royal court of England.
In 1080, William the Conqueror gave the town, including its church, which would later become the Minster, to the Bishop of Durham, who promptly conferred the church to the monks of Durham. However, he kept Howden Manor for himself. Records show that the church, was, at first, a rectory, but conflicting records also show that Hugh, Prior of Durham, was given a bull from Pope Gregory IX for appropriating this church towards the maintenance of sixteen monks.[3]
Howden's royal connections continued, when, in 1191, Prince John spent Christmas in Howden. Nine years later, in 1200 John, now King of England, granted Howden the right to hold an annual fair. [2]
In 1228, work began on the current Howden Minster, though it was not to be finished until the fifteenth centurywhen the chapter house and top of the tower was added by Bishop Walter de Skirlaw.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Howden became a centre for pilgrims because of John of Howdens' alleged miracles in the latter part of the twelve hundreds. [4]
The most prolific of these tales being that, at the funeral of John of Howden in 1275, he raised his arms from his open coffin during his requiem mass, to great his host. As such, he has become regarded as a saint, though the Catholic Church has never made this official. Because of the pilgrims, Howden received the money that it needed to complete the Minster, fulfilling John of Howden's prophecy that he would continue aiding the building of the Minster from beyond the grave.
[edit] The ruin of Howden's Minster
Henry VIII, in 1548 dissolved the Collegiate Churches, Howden being amongst them. During her reign, Elizabeth I gave the revenues of the Manor of Howden to local landowners. These landowners, however, refused to repair the choir of the Church, [1] which, eventually, fell into ruin.
The Minster fell into further ruin during the English Civil War, when the Parliamentarians used it as a stable, during their stay on the way to lay siege to Wressle Castle. During this brief stay, the troops caused much damage to the interior of the Minster, destroying the organ, much of the wooden structures, and damaging some of the masonry. When leaving the town, it is said that they were playing the pipes of the organ like penny whistles [1].
On the night of 29th September, 1696, after nearly 150 years of neglect, the roof of the choir fell down, leaving most of the Minster in ruins. These ruins were left lying where they fell until 1748 when the site was cleared, and the townsfolk took them for their own. Many used the masonry as building stones [1].
[edit] Howden through the 1800s
In the early 1800s Howden became famous throughout Europe for its Horse Fair, which was held in September of every year. In Georgian times, the Howden horse fair was quoted in The Sporting Magazine in 1807 as being the largest fair for horses in the Kingdom. [5]
The fair, at its height, attracted all the principle horse dealers from every part of the United Kingdom. It is estimated that up to 4,000 horses were displayed for sale every day of the fair. It is estimated that the total worth of this kind of sale no less than £200,000. [5]
It is well known that the British Army attended the fair, and it is thought that Wellington's Cavalry used horses bought at Howden in the Napoleonic Wars.
Howden's architecture is chiefly made up of buildings from the Georgian and Victorian era, most of the town centre being exclusively made during this period. Most of Howden's pubs were built during this time, and it is said that, at one point, there was more pubs in Howden, per square half mile than anywhere else in the country. [6]
[edit] Howden in the 20th century
In 1915, during World War I, the British Admiralty needed to find a suitable site in the North East of England for a new airship station, which could be used to protect the ports and ships from the threat of attack by German U-boats.
The Royal Naval Airship Station Howden was opened in 1916. This airship station not only provided protection for the shipping along the East coast, but it also provided jobs for hundreds of local civilians. This helped to turn round the towns fortunes, which had been suffering since the building of the port at nearby Goole, and the passing of the horse fairs.[7]
Between wars, and then during the second World War, famed author Neville Shute worked in Howden for the Airship Guarantee Co., as part of the team that created the R100. While here, Shute worked alongside Barnes Wallis, scientist and inventor of the bouncing bomb. Shute lived at number 78 Hailgate, and a plaque is now fixed to the house to commemorate this historical fact. [8]
Shute, however, is not always popular in Howden, because of what he wrote in his Autobiography, Slide Rule: Autobiography of an Engineer:
The lads were what one would expect, straight from the plough, but the girls were an eye-opener. They were brutish and uncouth, filthy in appearance and in habits. Things may have changed since then - I hope they have. Perhaps the girls in very isolated districts such as that had less opportunity than their brothers for getting in to the market and making contact with civilization; I can only record the fact that these girls straight off the farms were the lowest types that I have ever seen in England, and incredibly foul-mouthed.
- Slide Rule: Autobiography of an Engineer, Neville Shute, 1954.
In 1932 Howden Minster's renovations were completed, and the Minster's bells now chimed every 15 minutes, a tradition that continues to this day.
It is popularly believed that on the night of June 24th 1954 the historian A.J.P. Taylor spent the night at the Wellington Hotel, and that he broke a water jug and a shaving mirror whilst staying at the hotel. However, this is untrue, as Taylor spent the night at the Bowman’s Hotel, next door to the Wellington. It is also untrue that he broke the jug and mirror. Instead, he broke his wrist falling from the unusually high bed.[9]
In the latter part of the mid 20th century, two banks and a Co-Op, the town's largest grocery store, opened, giving the people of Howden a more convenient infrastructure.
[edit] Howden in the 21st century, and modernisation
In late 2003 The Press Association (PA) completed building work on what it calls its 'Operations Centre', despite notable opposition from the residents of Howden, and it stands on the site of the old Georgian Police Station. This left Howden without a police presence in the town until late 2005. The building was officially opened by the Prince of Wales, continuing Howden's relations with the Royal Family.
PA employs several hundred employees, most of which have been brought into the town from Leeds and London, at this building and others in the town. The local public transport facilities have proved inadequate for many staff who commute, as much of the work is done round the clock. This has led to considerable strain being put on Howden's parking facilities, leading to the creation of a Controlled Parking Zone embracing most of the central area of the town.
Recently, online retailer Ebuyer.com also relocated their Headquarters from Sheffield to Howden. Their vast warehouse and office building is on Ferry Road, close to Howdendyke.
Plans for the further development of Howden include a permanent set of traffic lights, more housing, an industrial estate and a larger grocery store to be built on the disused 'United Carriers' site.
Howden Minster currently is going through another renovation, with the aid of English Heritage. The Minster hopes to raise £300,000 in the next two years [1].
Howden was recently featured in The Times newspaper's top 20 list of places with the best standard of living in the UK. [10]
[edit] Politics in Howden
The parliamentary seat of Howden and Haltemprice is currently held by David Davis (as of 2006), the Shadow Home Secretary. The civil parish of Howden had a population of 3,810, according to the 2001 census.
The current Howden town councillor is Mark Preston, of the Conservative Party.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e Howdenminster.net. Howden Minster.net. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ a b Notes on the history of Howden. uk.geocites.com/denko476. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ genuki.org.uk. The history of Howden's church.. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ uk.geocites.com/denko476. Myths about Howden. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ a b Howden Horse Fair. uk.geocites.com/denko476. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ Yorkshire Tours. Profile of Howden.. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ deko476. Howden RNAS.. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ deko476. Neville Shute in Howden.. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
- ^ Kathleen Burk, Troublemaker: The Life and History of A.J.P. Taylor (Yale University Press, 2002),p.193.
- ^ The Times. Top 20 places with the highest standard of Living in the UK. Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
