Time travellers

All without leaving the armchair.

That's the great thing about books. All the travelling is done in the mind, so no hassles at the check-in desk or delays caused by leaves on the line.

The latest batch of books for history buffs are as diverse and revealing as ever. We start in Selby, a town whose past glories are often overshadowed by near-neighbour York.

But the place is packed with incident and character, enough to produce 300 pages of narrative by Patricia Scott in The History Of Selby.

Tracing the town's development from pre-history to the present, it is a comprehensive guide, complete with 18 illustrations and several maps.

Effectively the town was born with Selby Abbey, which was founded by the monk Benedict. While in Auxerre Abbey he experienced a vision in which Saint Germain instructed him to find Selby and build an abbey there.

Benedict arrived in about 1069 and immediately recognised the place from his vision, a thought confirmed when three white swans alighted on the river. The swans became the symbol of Selby and are on the abbey coat of arms.

As the abbey's website explains, the abbey become quite a place, "complete with chapel, cloisters, stables, brew-house, kitchen, workshops, dormitory, cellars, barns and an infirmary, all surrounded by high walls with a huge gateway".

And the abbot was a figure of great status. He would receive many gifts. "These were usually of food except in one case in 1399 when Abbot John de Shireburn received a gift of two hunting dogs from Lady Roos; William, Lord Roos of Hamelake had an important seat at Helmsley," writes Mrs Scott.

"Other gifts received that year included 12 partridges brought by a servant of William Barker near the festival of St Hilary (January 13). A month later the abbot received a porpoise from Sir Stephen Scrope who had a favourite residence at Faxfleet near Goole.

"It is interesting to note that porpoises have been noted several times during the last few years in the River Ouse, especially around Cawood. The older residents of the village believe that they are following the migration of salmon up the river."

Mrs Scott guides the reader through the town's royal connections, the dissolution of the monastery, Selby's civil war and into the industrial age.

For centuries, the river was the main way in and out, but gradually that changed with the arrival of decent roads, the toll bridge and the railways, all covered in the book. It is not clear exactly when the toll bridge opened, but it was certainly ready in July 1793. And not before time, as the author notes.

"On the last Monday of that month the large ferryboat at Selby overturned due mostly to the inexperience of the two men who had undertaken the management of the craft during the illness of the official ferryman. All but one man and his horse were saved."

The original tolls ranged from three shillings for a coach drawn by six horses to one penny for a cow.

Despite much opposition to the bridge, it proved to be a lasting success. "It became the best surviving example of a large timber bridge in England besides being one of the earliest swing bridges in Europe.

"An interesting feature of its mechanism was the early use, on a large scale, of ball-bearings, which facilitated the speedy opening of the 70-ton bridge span. It was not until the 1970s that the toll bridge was rebuilt and strengthened with iron."

We must leave Selby there and divert to another thoroughfare. The Great North Road by retired Leeds teacher Frank Goddard is a travel book, following the route from London to Edinburgh. Written and illustrated by hand, in a manner which brings to mind Mark Jones's Snickelways Of York, it includes brief histories of all the settlements on or about the route.

The Great North Road is an enjoyable journey along Britain's most famous route. As well as the pen portraits of towns, Mr Goddard crams in other details, like a castle glossary.

Leaving the roads for the altogether more civilised business of rail travel, we now hitch a ride on The Wensleydale Railway. Unlike most books on steam locomotion, this is written by a woman, Christine Hallas.

It is the fourth edition of her book tracing the 22-mile line between Garsdale and Leyburn. At first, Dr Hallas notes, dales residents hoped the arrival of the railway would arrest the depopulation of the area. But the pull of urban living proved too strong.

"For those who remained in the dales the railway in the 19th and early 20th century became a lifeline," she writes.

"Not only was rail transport used for social and business visits but markets near and far afield could be attended.

"The people of upper Swaledale travelled over one of three moorland passes to catch the train at either Hawes, Askrigg or Redmire.

"The Buttertubs Pass and the Askrigg to Swaledale road traversed high ground of over 1,700 feet above sea level, and for long periods during winter drifting snow frequently severed connections between the two dales. Despite these problems the Swaledale farmers made regular use of the railway."

This edition of the book boasts new photographs, and highlights the remarkable progress made in recent years by the Wensleydale Railway Association and the Wensleydale Railway plc. It includes the reopening of the line between Leeming Bar and Leyburn in July 2003 and details the efforts to prepare the whole Northallerton to Redmire section for a passenger service.

Finally, as promised, we reach our destination: a new book on one of the most turbulent periods in British history. Yorkshire In The Civil Wars: Origins, Impact and Outcome by Jack Binns is a detailed historical account of our region's crucial role in the conflict. If you want to learn more about Charles I setting up court in York and the city's eventual fall to the Roundheads, it's all here.

The History Of Selby: From The Earliest Times To The Year 2000 by Patricia Scott; and Yorkshire In The Civil Wars: Origins, Impact And Outcome by Jack Binns, are both published by Blackthorn Press, each priced £14.95

The Great North Road by Frank Goddard is published by Frances Lincoln, price £14.99

The Wensleydale Railway by Christine Hallas is published by Great Northern Books, price £9.99

Updated: 10:33 Monday, February 21, 2005