Selby History - Shopping Gowthorpe

Running from the magnificent Selby Abbey through the centre of Selby and past the Town Hall, Gowthorpe really is at the heart of Selby. The name Gowthorpe is derived from the words ‘Gowk’, which stems from the Norse for a cuckoo, and ‘Thorpe’, the Middle English word for a hamlet or small village/settlement. So, literally, Gowthorpe is the hamlet of cuckoos, or, more colloquially, a place where lots of people chatter noisily. Since it’s Selby’s main street, leading to the Market Place, and lined with shops and pubs, a place of loud and idle chatter is perhaps not such a bad description!

The street soon became the principal shopping street of the town, leading directly onto the Marketplace and Selby Abbey, and it was also the main thoroughfare to Leeds.

Today, it is still very much the centre of town with various side streets leading from it. Many of the towns main shops are placed on Gowthorpe, and many of the buildings have a vast history, which can be explored further within these pages, maps, and icons.