The small municipal park in Selby is a gem. One thing I like about Selby is that it is compact; within less than a square mile are; the rail station, bus station, the park, Selby Abbey, the market place, lots of shops (mostly small-scale) in close-by streets and alleys, a department store, the River Ouse, the once toll road bridge, the Selby Canal and its lock to the R. Ouse etc.
The photo above looking north across a manicured bowling green shows the Park’s bandstand with the Minster beyond the Park. Selby Park is of relatively recent creation having been established in the 1930s on land south of the Abbey Church which must have been the site of monastic buildings prior to the Reformation. The Park is run by one gardener/ranger and still has flower beds as well as shrubberies, peripheral trees and well-kept grassy areas. Surfaced paths pass through the Park and link the Market Place to the bus and train stations. Of critical importance – the Park has a lot of benches and low sit-on walls.
The Minster is a crossing church with a lofty central tower. It has had a chequered history since the late 11th century having had long periods of neglect followed by resolute restorations. As with many ex-monastic churches it became a parish church after 1539 (although not immediately) but was a burden on the parish. Of the many episodes in its history the Great fire of 1908 must have been a great disaster, one of Yorkshire’s great church fires. A framed early photo hangs in the church and shows the scene in the nave shortly after the fire and showing great roof timbers lying on the nave floor. This train of thought leads me to wonder what is the current situation with Notre-Dame, Paris.
Selby remains an interesting place to visit.