Kilpin is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) north east of Goole town centre and about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south east of Howden.
The civil parish is formed by the villages of Kilpin and Kilpin Pike and the hamlets of Balkholme ,Belby, Howdendyke and Skelton. According to the 2001 UK census, Kilpin parish had a population of 357. (Wikipedia).
As with all the villages around here, the roads are a pleasure to cycle or ride. They are usually free of traffic and surrounded on all sides by trees.
Skelton in days gone by , was served by two shops and a pub (The Jolly Sailor) but these no longer exist. There is now just one working farm and many of the gaps which were once fields have been filled in with houses. As you enter the village from Howden all the houses bar two (located at the swing bridge) lie on the left (north to south) with the river Ouse on the right. The Hull to Doncaster railway crosses the river at Skelton via the huge Goole Swing Bridge. At the far end of the village lies the Sandhall Estate. Local gentry and landowners the Scholfield family started the estate when they built Sandhall Park in 1776. Mary Barker, who farmed it since 1966 on the death of her father Edward Scholfield, died recently and none of her three children, who no longer live in the area, wanted to take over the property so it is was sold in 2010. Sadly the beautiful Georgian manor lies empty but the 646 acres are still farmed. The parish’s village hall, The Scholfield Village Hall is located in Skelton.
Howdendyke takes it name from the ditch that runs from the river to Howden. Its prosperity was originally based around agriculture with the harvest been taken to markets by way of an old oar-propelled ferry. The ferry crossing became more dangerous when it was heavily loaded and with the ships which where later coming to the newly developing industrial port.
A fertilizer factory was founded in the early 1850's and ships such as Sulpho, Nitro and Phospho were used to transport the fertilzers to landing stages further along the Ouse where it could be used inthe fields. The original industrial processused mummified cats, but more sensible practices are followed today.
The wharf now has large docking berths and storage units, but its traffic is hindered due to its location on a bend in the river. This creates two river channels and it can be hard for ships to navigate along the fast flowing tides. (Goole on the Web 2012)
Howdendyke is now one road with houses on each side and a small licensed working men’s club.
Kilpin - Is situated approximately two and a half miles north east of Goole town centre and about one and a half miles east of Howden. The village is a very small settlement made up of several farmsteads and a number of houses in a very compact and nucleated form. There has been very little residential development in the village in recent years. There is a thriving free range pig farm in the village.
Nearby Kilpin Pike supports a small port operation and there have been developments recently by a large online retailer. (East Riding.gov.uk 2012)
Balkholme is a tiny hamlet which boasts an excellent cross country course for the horse riding enthusiasts. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north east of Goole town centre and about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Howden. It lies to the south of the B1230 road as it crosses the M62 motorway. In 2005 a memorial was erected depicting two interlocked Halifax bombers on a downward plunge, mounted on a tall tubular column, erected on the site where two aircraft, returning from the Bottrop operation of 20/21 July 1944 collided in mid air and fell to earth. Commemorating the loss of all fourteen crew members .
Belby is now a sprinkling of houses on what used to be the main Hull Road.