The Port of Goole (also known as Goole Docks and The Port in Green Fields), is a maritime port at the mouth of the Aire and Calder Navigation where it feeds into the River Ouse, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The port opened in 1826, when the Aire and Calder Navigation was completed, connecting to the River Ouse at what is now the town of Goole. The port is one of the Humber Ports, associated with the waterway of the Humber Estuary and its tributaries, and is known to be Britain's largest inland port, being some from the open sea. It is has good road and rail transport links, and deals with about £800 million worth of trade each year.
Originally the port was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but was transferred to Humberside in 1974, then it was moved into the East Riding of Yorkshire in 1996.
History
Whilst the location of Goole as a settlement has been around since Anglo-Saxon times, the land surrounding the area of Goole was marshy, and only drained when King Charles I granted Cornelius Vermuyden the right to drain the land and divert the River Don into the Ouse, rather than the Trent. The River Don had hitherto drained eastwards directly into the Trent at Adlingfleet. Prior to the diversion of the River Don (which became known as the Dutch River), and the opening of the Aire and Calder Navigation, Goole itself was a tiny hamlet, on the south bank of the River Ouse. In 1821, five years before the port was opened, the population of Goole was listed as 450; by 1831, it had increased threefold to 1,671. By 1901, the town had grown to 4,549 residents. The port was completed and opened in July 1826, but Goole itself was not recognised legally as a port town until 1828. However, the effect of the township's creation led to it being a point of reference locally. When land was advertised for sale in local newspapers, hamlets in the area were always advertised as being "near Howden..", this changed to being "near Goole."
The proprietors of the canal sought to exploit the increasing coal trade which was being mined further inland in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Prior to the opening of the Aire and Calder Navigation, Selby was the port of transhipment for coal from the West Riding, but by 1828, Goole had supplanted Selby as the exporting hub in the region. In addition to the coal trade, Goole was not only further downriver, but the section of the Ouse between Selby and Goole was beset by several meanders (what Baron Duckham labelled as a "torturous voyage"), which made it harder for larger shipping to navigate. The proprietors of Goole docks were keen to achieve foreign trade status, a desired marque awarded by the Board of Customs. Initially, the comptroller was resistant to this, however, the board was suitably impressed enough by the dock operation to grant the award, much to the consternation of those operating Hull docks. By 1840 Goole was exporting of coal each year; four times the amount being shipped out of Hull docks.
Trade through the port suffered during the First World War, the Depression and the Second World War. The reorganisation of the British Ports, a UK government white paper, took effect on 1 January 1963, and Goole became one of 19 ports operated by the British Transport Docks Board across Great Britain. Up until 1974, the port was in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but it was moved into the new county of Humberside. This itself was abolished in 1996, and Goole was moved into the East Riding of Yorkshire.
In 1983, the British Transport Docks Board was wound-up, with all assets being privatised, Goole Docks was acquired by Associated British Ports (ABP). The port was granted Freeport status in 2021, along with the other Humber ports of Grimsby, Hull and Immingham.