Howden
Encyclopedia
Howden is a small market town
and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire
, England
. It lies north of the M62
, on the A614 road
about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Goole
and 17 miles (27.4 km) south-west of York
. William the Conqueror gave the town to the Bishop
s of Durham
in 1080. The wapentake of Howdenshire
was named after the town, the Bishops of Durham also owning the wapentake.
, although the town itself has been bypassed. Howden lies close to the M62
and the M18 motorways, nearby to Goole
which lies at the opposite side of the River Ouse
. The town is served by Howden railway station
, which is situated in North Howden
and has services to Leeds
, Selby
and Kingston upon Hull
.
Howden is surrounded by largely flat land and in some places marshland. Much of the land surrounding Howden is separated by many drainage dykes.
giving his first wife, Ethelfleda, Howden Manor in 959 AD, the beginnings of a long connection with the royal court
of England
.
In 1080, William the Conqueror gave the town, including its church, which later became the minster, to the Bishop of Durham, who promptly conferred the church upon the monk
s 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 the church towards the maintenance of 16 monks.
Howden's royal connections continued when, in 1191, Prince John
spent Christmas in Howden. Nine years later, John, now King of England, granted Howden the right to hold an annual fair.
In 1228, work began on the current Howden Minster
, though it was not finished until the 15th century when the chapter house and top of the tower was added by Bishop Walter de Skirlaw.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Howden became a centre for pilgrims
because of John of Howden's alleged miracles in the latter part of the 13th century.
The most prolific of these tales was that John of Howden, at his funeral in 1275, raised his arms from his open coffin during his requiem mass to greet the host. As such, he has become regarded as a saint, though the Catholic Church has never made this official. Through 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 minster from beyond the grave.
Howden's Workhouse
From 1665-1794, a site on Pinfold Street in Howden was used as a lodging house for the needy. A workhouse was then opened on the site which included a manufactory, stone-breaking yard, cowshed, and prison. A parliamentary report of 1776 listed the parish workhouse at Howden as being able to accommodate up to 20 inmates.
After 1834
Howden Poor Law Union was formed on 4th February 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 42 in number, representing its 40 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):
East Riding: Asselby, Aughton, Backenholme with Woodale, Balkholme, Barmby-on-the-Marsh, Belby, Bellasize, Blacktoft, Breighton, Broomfleet, Bubwith, North Cave with Drewton Everthorpe, Cheapsides, Cotness, Eastrington, Elberton Priory, Flaxfleet, Foggathorpe, Gilberdike, Gribthorpe, Harlthorpe, Hemingbrough, Holme upon Spalding Moor, Hotham, Howden (2), Kilpin, Knedlington, Latham, Loxton, Metham, Newport Wallingfen, New Village, Newsham & Brind and Wressal & Loftsome, Portington & Cavil, Saltmarsh, Scalby, Skelton, Spaldington, Thorpe, Willitoft, Yokefleet.
The population falling within the union at the 1831 census had been 12,728 with parishes ranging in size from Cotness (population 29) to Howden itself (2,130). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1834-6 had been £6,263.
Initially, the Howden Guardians declined to build a new workhouse but made use of the existing parish workhouses in Howden, Holme and Cave. However, in 1839, following persuasion by the region's Assistant Poor Law Commsissioner John Revans, a new building was erected on the south side of Knedlington Road. It was designed by Weightman and Hadfield of Sheffield.
In 1548, Henry VIII
dissolved the Collegiate churches, including Howden. During her reign, Elizabeth I gave the revenues of the Manor of Howden to local landowners. But these landowners refused to repair the choir of the church, 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
. The troops damaged the interior extensively, destroying the organ
, much of the wooden structures, and damaging some of the masonry. It is said that when leaving the town they were playing the pipes of the organ like penny whistles.
On the night of 29 September 1696, after nearly 150 years of neglect, the roof of the choir fell down. The minster ruins were left 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.
The fair, at its height, attracted all the principal 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 and that the total worth of this kind of sale was £200,000.
Representatives of 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 from the Georgian and Victorian
era, most of the town centre exclusively being built in this period. Most of Howden's pubs were built during this time, and it is said that, at one point, there were more pubs in Howden per square half mile than anywhere else in the country.
One notable piece of architecture from this period is the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart located at the junction of Knedlington Road and Buttfield Road. It is one of the early works of the distinguished architect, Joseph Aloysius Hansom, who later became famous for designing the Hansom Cab. However Hansom's greatest achievements were the churches (mostly Catholic) he designed, the most notable of which are St Walburga's in Preston (the church with the highest spire in England), The Holy Name in Manchester and what is now Arundel Cathedral. The Sacred Heart Church in Howden was opened in 1850 and is comparitatively modest in size and simple in design, but nevertheless is clearly a work of some destinction.
Howden's first railway station opened in 1840 and a second opened in 1885.
The town was the scene of an early rail disaster
which killed five passengers when a large iron casting fell from a wagon, and derailed the train. It was one of the first accidents to be investigated by the new Railway Inspectorate.
In 1915, during the First World War, the British Admiralty needed a suitable site in north-east England for a new airship station, to protect the ports and ships from the threat of attack by German U-boats.
RNAS Howden
opened in 1916 with its airship hangar
s. It provided not only protection for shipping along the east coast, but also jobs for hundreds of civilians. This helped to turn round the town's fortunes, which had been suffering since the building of the port at nearby Goole, and the passing of the horse fairs.
Between the wars, and then during the Second World War, the author Nevil 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
, the 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.
Shute is not always popular in Howden, because of what he wrote in his autobiography:
In 1932, Howden Minster's renovations were completed, and its bells chimed every 15 minutes, a tradition that continues to this day.
It is popularly believed that on the night of 24 June 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 while staying there. 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.
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
.
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 has several hundred employees, most of whom 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.
Online retailer Ebuyer.com
also recently relocated their headquarters from Sheffield
to Howden. Their vast warehouse and office building is on Ferry Road, close to Howdendyke
. Adjacent to the Ebuyer.com headquarters is that of Wren Kitchens
along with a new warehouse and distribution centre. This new development is in partnership with Ebuyer.
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, (The new Co-op has since been built in place of United Carriers and features a modern grocery store and beautifully accommodated apartments above the store).
Howden Minster is currently undergoing another renovation, with the aid of English Heritage
. The Minster hopes to raise £300,000 in the next two years. The famous Yorkshire wood carver, Mousy Thompson of Kilburn, made the fine choir stalls and much of the other minster furnishings, as seen on Look North. Children love to hunt for the 30+ Thompson mice hidden around the Minster
Howden was featured in The Times
top 20 list of places with the best standard of living in the UK in 2005.
, the former Shadow Home Secretary
. The civil parish of Howden had a population of 3,810, according to the 2001 UK census
. The civil parish also includes North Howden
and part of Boothferry
.
The current Howden town councillor is Mark Preston, of the Conservative Party
. Chris Hobson, of the Labour Party
, is the shadow councillor.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies north of the M62
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
, on the A614 road
A614 road
The A614 is a main road in England running through the counties of Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.Beginning at Redhill, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire at a roundabout with the A60, the road meets the A6097 at a junction which looks like a roundabout but...
about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
and 17 miles (27.4 km) south-west of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. William the Conqueror gave the town to the Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
in 1080. The wapentake of Howdenshire
Howdenshire
Howdenshire was a wapentake and a liberty of England, lying around the town of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire.In the Saxon period, the district was under the control of Peterborough's monastery, but it was confiscated by Edward the Confessor, and then given to the Bishop of Durham by...
was named after the town, the Bishops of Durham also owning the wapentake.
Geography
Howden is situated on the A614A614 road
The A614 is a main road in England running through the counties of Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.Beginning at Redhill, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire at a roundabout with the A60, the road meets the A6097 at a junction which looks like a roundabout but...
, although the town itself has been bypassed. Howden lies close to the M62
M62 motorway
The M62 motorway is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting the cities of Liverpool and Hull via Manchester and Leeds. The road also forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E20 and E22...
and the M18 motorways, nearby to Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
which lies at the opposite side of the River Ouse
River Ouse, Yorkshire
The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. The river is formed from the River Ure at Cuddy Shaw Reach near Linton-on-Ouse, about 6 miles downstream of the confluence of the River Swale with the River Ure...
. The town is served by Howden railway station
Howden railway station
Howden railway station serves the town of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the town in the hamlet of North Howden. The station is managed by Northern Rail, but is also served by First TransPennine Express and First Hull Trains.The station was...
, which is situated in North Howden
North Howden
North Howden is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the town of Howden.It lies on the B1228 road where it crosses the Hull to York railway line and where Howden railway station is located....
and has services to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
and Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
.
Howden is surrounded by largely flat land and in some places marshland. Much of the land surrounding Howden is separated by many drainage dykes.
Early history
One of the earliest recorded parts of Howden's history is King Edgar of EnglandEdgar of England
Edgar the Peaceful, or Edgar I , also called the Peaceable, was a king of England . Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I of England.-Accession:...
giving his first wife, Ethelfleda, Howden Manor in 959 AD, the beginnings of a long connection with the royal court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
In 1080, William the Conqueror gave the town, including its church, which later became the minster, to the Bishop of Durham, who promptly conferred the church upon the monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s of Durham. However, he kept Howden Manor for himself. Records show that the church was at first a rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, but conflicting records also show that Hugh, Prior of Durham, was given a bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
from Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
for appropriating the church towards the maintenance of 16 monks.
Howden's royal connections continued when, in 1191, Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
spent Christmas in Howden. Nine years later, John, now King of England, granted Howden the right to hold an annual fair.
Howden Minster
Howden Minster is a large Grade I listed Church of England church in the Diocese of York. It is located in Howden, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is one of the largest and most magnificent churches in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul and it is therefore...
, though it was not finished until the 15th century when the chapter house and top of the tower was added by Bishop Walter de Skirlaw.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Howden became a centre for pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
because of John of Howden's alleged miracles in the latter part of the 13th century.
The most prolific of these tales was that John of Howden, at his funeral in 1275, raised his arms from his open coffin during his requiem mass to greet the host. As such, he has become regarded as a saint, though the Catholic Church has never made this official. Through 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 minster from beyond the grave.
Howden's Workhouse
From 1665-1794, a site on Pinfold Street in Howden was used as a lodging house for the needy. A workhouse was then opened on the site which included a manufactory, stone-breaking yard, cowshed, and prison. A parliamentary report of 1776 listed the parish workhouse at Howden as being able to accommodate up to 20 inmates.
After 1834
Howden Poor Law Union was formed on 4th February 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 42 in number, representing its 40 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):
East Riding: Asselby, Aughton, Backenholme with Woodale, Balkholme, Barmby-on-the-Marsh, Belby, Bellasize, Blacktoft, Breighton, Broomfleet, Bubwith, North Cave with Drewton Everthorpe, Cheapsides, Cotness, Eastrington, Elberton Priory, Flaxfleet, Foggathorpe, Gilberdike, Gribthorpe, Harlthorpe, Hemingbrough, Holme upon Spalding Moor, Hotham, Howden (2), Kilpin, Knedlington, Latham, Loxton, Metham, Newport Wallingfen, New Village, Newsham & Brind and Wressal & Loftsome, Portington & Cavil, Saltmarsh, Scalby, Skelton, Spaldington, Thorpe, Willitoft, Yokefleet.
The population falling within the union at the 1831 census had been 12,728 with parishes ranging in size from Cotness (population 29) to Howden itself (2,130). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1834-6 had been £6,263.
Initially, the Howden Guardians declined to build a new workhouse but made use of the existing parish workhouses in Howden, Holme and Cave. However, in 1839, following persuasion by the region's Assistant Poor Law Commsissioner John Revans, a new building was erected on the south side of Knedlington Road. It was designed by Weightman and Hadfield of Sheffield.
Ruin of Howden's minster
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
dissolved the Collegiate churches, including Howden. During her reign, Elizabeth I gave the revenues of the Manor of Howden to local landowners. But these landowners refused to repair the choir of the church, which eventually fell into ruin.
The minster fell into further ruin during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, when the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
used it as a stable during their stay on the way to lay siege to Wressle Castle
Wressle Castle
Wressle Castle is a Grade I listed quadrangular castle located in Wressle, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The castle was built c.1380–1390 by Sir Thomas Percy. The castle was garrisoned by Parliament during the English Civil War, and was largely demolished by an act of Parliament in...
. The troops damaged the interior extensively, destroying the organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, much of the wooden structures, and damaging some of the masonry. It is said that when leaving the town they were playing the pipes of the organ like penny whistles.
On the night of 29 September 1696, after nearly 150 years of neglect, the roof of the choir fell down. The minster ruins were left 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.
19th century
In the early 19th century Howden became famous throughout Europe for its horse fair, held every September. In Georgian times, the fair was quoted in The Sporting Magazine in 1807 as being the "largest fair for horses in the Kingdom".The fair, at its height, attracted all the principal 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 and that the total worth of this kind of sale was £200,000.
Representatives of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
attended the fair, and it is thought that Wellington's
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
cavalry used horses bought at Howden in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Howden's architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
is chiefly from the Georgian and Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
era, most of the town centre exclusively being built in this period. Most of Howden's pubs were built during this time, and it is said that, at one point, there were more pubs in Howden per square half mile than anywhere else in the country.
One notable piece of architecture from this period is the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart located at the junction of Knedlington Road and Buttfield Road. It is one of the early works of the distinguished architect, Joseph Aloysius Hansom, who later became famous for designing the Hansom Cab. However Hansom's greatest achievements were the churches (mostly Catholic) he designed, the most notable of which are St Walburga's in Preston (the church with the highest spire in England), The Holy Name in Manchester and what is now Arundel Cathedral. The Sacred Heart Church in Howden was opened in 1850 and is comparitatively modest in size and simple in design, but nevertheless is clearly a work of some destinction.
Howden's first railway station opened in 1840 and a second opened in 1885.
The town was the scene of an early rail disaster
Howden rail crash
The Howden rail accident in Yorkshire on 7 August 1840 killed 4 passengers. It occurred when a large cast-iron casting fell from a wagon and derailed the following carriages. It happened on the Hull and Selby Railway as the train was travelling from Leeds to Hull. The crash was one of the first...
which killed five passengers when a large iron casting fell from a wagon, and derailed the train. It was one of the first accidents to be investigated by the new Railway Inspectorate.
20th century
RNAS Howden
RNAS Howden
RNAS Howden was an airship station near the town of Howden south-west of York, UK. Opened on 26 June 1916 during the First World War, to cover the East Coast ports shipping from attacks by German U-boats. From 1916 to 1918 Howden was a Royal Naval Air Service establishment...
opened in 1916 with its airship hangar
Airship hangar
Airships are sheltered in airship hangars during construction and sometimes also for regular operation, particularly at bad weather conditions. Rigid airships always needed to be based in airship hangars because weathering was a serious risk.- History :...
s. It provided not only protection for shipping along the east coast, but also jobs for hundreds of civilians. This helped to turn round the town's fortunes, which had been suffering since the building of the port at nearby Goole, and the passing of the horse fairs.
Between the wars, and then during the Second World War, the author Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute Norway was a popular British-Australian novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer. He used his full name in his engineering career, and 'Nevil Shute' as his pen name, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.-...
worked in Howden for the Airship Guarantee Co, as part of the team that created the R100
R100
HM Airship R100 was a privately designed and built rigid airship made as part of a two-ship competition to develop new techniques for a projected larger commercial airship for use on British empire routes...
. While here, Shute worked alongside Barnes Wallis
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
, the scientist and inventor of the bouncing bomb
Bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed specifically to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner, in order to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined...
. Shute lived at number 78 Hailgate, and a plaque is now fixed to the house to commemorate this.
Shute is not always popular in Howden, because of what he wrote in his autobiography:
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, Nevil Shute, 1954.
In 1932, Howden Minster's renovations were completed, and its bells chimed every 15 minutes, a tradition that continues to this day.
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
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
.
21st century modernisation
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
(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
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, continuing Howden's relations with the Royal Family.
PA has several hundred employees, most of whom have been brought into the town from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 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.
Online retailer Ebuyer.com
Ebuyer
Ebuyer is a UK-based electronic commerce retailer based in Howden, United Kingdom. It is the largest independent online retailer of computer and electrical goods in the United Kingdom.-History:...
also recently relocated their headquarters from Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
to Howden. Their vast warehouse and office building is on Ferry Road, close to Howdendyke
Howdendyke
Howdendyke is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of Goole town centre and about south of Howden. It lies on the north bank of the River Ouse.It forms part of the civil parish of Kilpin....
. Adjacent to the Ebuyer.com headquarters is that of Wren Kitchens
Wren Kitchens
Wren Kitchens is a privately-owned British designer, manufacturer and retailer of fully assembled kitchen cabinets and bedroom furniture. The company has 27 showrooms across the UK, and its headquarters in Howden, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England....
along with a new warehouse and distribution centre. This new development is in partnership with Ebuyer.
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, (The new Co-op has since been built in place of United Carriers and features a modern grocery store and beautifully accommodated apartments above the store).
Howden Minster is currently undergoing another renovation, with the aid of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The Minster hopes to raise £300,000 in the next two years. The famous Yorkshire wood carver, Mousy Thompson of Kilburn, made the fine choir stalls and much of the other minster furnishings, as seen on Look North. Children love to hunt for the 30+ Thompson mice hidden around the Minster
Howden was featured in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
top 20 list of places with the best standard of living in the UK in 2005.
Politics
The parliamentary seat of Howden and Haltemprice is held by David DavisDavid Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
, the former Shadow Home Secretary
Shadow Home Secretary
In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who 'shadows' the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and...
. The civil parish of Howden had a population of 3,810, according to the 2001 UK census
United Kingdom Census 2001
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 civil parish also includes North Howden
North Howden
North Howden is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the town of Howden.It lies on the B1228 road where it crosses the Hull to York railway line and where Howden railway station is located....
and part of Boothferry
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...
.
The current Howden town councillor is Mark Preston, of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Chris Hobson, of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, is the shadow councillor.