Airmyn

Image Credit: George Robinson

Airmyn is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is around 2 miles from Goole and has a population of 768, according to the 2011 census.

Education in Airmyn

Airmyn Primary School opened in 1991 and has four classrooms along with a hall and offices which were suitable for over 100 pupils. This East Riding primary school moved to a new building that was originally built in 1834 by George Percy, the Earl of Beverley, as a Sunday School. By 1840, this was converted into a day school.

Religion in Airmyn

The Parish Church of St David’s is Airmyn’s only religious building within the village. It was built in 1318 and later extended in 1676. This Grade II listed building underwent refurbishment in 1858 and had a new roof, bell-cote, and porch added.

Airmyn Clock Tower

In the 19th century, George Percy, the 2nd Earl of Beverley, owned the Airmyn estate. He was an admired landlord who was known as a caring man who looked after his tenants. In 1834, George had a Sunday School built for the village, which would later become Airmyn Primary School.

To say thank you for his kindness, the residents of Airmyn raised £700 for a clock tower. This was built in 1865 and designed by Henry Francis Lockwood of Bradford.

George was in his late 80s at the time the foundation stone was laid and could not attend the ceremony. As a result, his nephew Algernon Charles Heber Percy represented him. Algernon put a time capsule in the masonry, which included a copy of the Eastern Morning News which was Hull’s first daily newspaper, coins, and a genesis of the memorial tower.

In 1867, George died aged 89. It’s likely that he never saw the clock tower.

There is a local folklore surrounding the clock tower. There are only three clocks on the four faces of the tower with the blank face looking across the river. It’s thought that they left this blank because the farmer refused to contribute.

In 1919, the Airmyn estate was broken up in an estate sale. However, the Heber Percy family retained ownership of the land of the clock tower until 1951, when it was gifted to the Rural District Council of Goole.

History of Airmyn

Originally, Airmyn was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire between 1894 to 1974. It then became part of the Boothferry district under Humberside until 1996, before becoming part of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

During the middle ages, a small port was built and used until the 18th century. Their dead would be put on boats travelling upstream to Snaith to be buried, as this was quicker than the traditional horse and cart.

Land was bought for the new port to be built on in 1744. They decided that the water was deeper here in Airmyn compared to Rawcliffe. By 1758, there was a regular service from Airmyn to London, which charged the same fares as Hull to London.

In 1774, Selby canal was built which lead to the coal yard and offices closing in 1779. All the buildings on the north bank were demolished and the buildings on the south bank closed, closely followed by the boat repair yard.