Gilberdyke village centre is approximately 4 miles West of Junction 38 on the M62 motorway and lies close to the intersection where the B1230 (A63) highway crosses the main Leeds – Hull railway line (known as Slipper Bridge).
The Parish straddles the M62 Motorway, the A63 (downgraded to B1230 following the construction of the M62), and the main railway line to Hull and its docks. For many years the A63 through Gilberdyke formed the main road link from the South and West to Hull and beyond. Various establishments grew up to provide services for the drovers and later lorry traffic. The White Horse Inn until relatively recently still had a large upstairs room at the rear holding cots for the drovers who stayed overnight. Almost opposite was a truck-stop cafe for the Westbound drivers, now converted to a residential property.
The village takes its name from the Gilberts Dyke. In 1154 the Bishop of Durham granted to Gilbert Hansard land around Gilberdyke with leave to build a watermill and dig a channel from the River Foulness to drive the water mill and discharge into the River Ouse at Blacktoft. This had the secondary function that it could serve both as a transportation route and to drain the surrounding lowland marsh areas. By 1191 when it was completed the watercourse was 16 feet wide and 8 feet deep. To the South of the present railway two ponds still exist which were staithes and turning points for boats.
Gilberdyke was predominately an Agricultural community and following the enclosures awards sections of the carr land to the north were allotted to other local communities as summer grazing. With the flourishing transportation links of the canal, trade grew and the settlement prospered. The advent of the Hull and Barnsley Railway and the Hull to Leeds/Doncaster railway provided further strategic opportunity for the village, albeit at the expense of canal traffic. The railway tracks severed the route of the Gilberts Dyke canal, effectively leading to its demise as a traffic or drainage route. Trackside dykes provided alternative escape for the waters collected from the land to the North of the railway, and diverted this into other drainage to the West and East. A Pole-yard at the South side of the Hull to Leeds railway sprang up and formed the basis of the present day industrial estate. A Flax-Mill (now demolished) was built at the North side of the track adjacent to the station and it has, as its legacy, given its name to Flaxmill Walk and the Flaxmill pond. The original Gilberts Dyke can be seen in a much reduced form as an open ditch alongside Sandholme Road but for much of its route now runs underground in a Victorian brick arched culvert from Sandholme Road to the junction of Clementhorpe Road and Clementhorpe Lane. The route lies within the front gardens of the dwellings alongside the Western side of Clementhorpe Road. From the junction with Clementhorpe Lane it is diverted into a more recently culverted underground drainage system running alongside Scalby Lane.
The original road to Blacktoft adjacent to the station was by means of a gated level crossing. However to reduce the disruption to road traffic this was replaced by the construction of the present day bridge. The material for construction of the earthworks was dug out from the South side of the track and the hole or delph remaining now forms a haven for Anglers.
In due course, the Hull to Barnsley railway line closed, the Sandholme brickyard closed, and later the M62 Motorway was built, diverting much of the road-freight traffic passing through the village, resulting in marked change to the layout. The industrial estate is largely served by road vehicles nowadays which does cause some traffic problems for the villagers especially in Station Road but further development may yet see a different route provided for heavy vehicles (it is hoped that any further major expansion is accompanied by a relief road)
Gilberdyke has nevertheless adapted to industrial and agricultural change well, and is today a busy thriving village which has become a desirable choice for those who still wish to enjoy a rural lifestyle whilst retaining good commuter links to the towns and cities of the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire and beyond.
Gilberdyke suffered severe disruption during the exceptionally heavy rainfall of June 2007 as did many other communities in the Country. Following the event a Gilberdyke Flood Action Group was set up to investigate and identify the reasons for the flooding in the worst affected parts of the village and to draw up with the aid of Consultant Engineers plans to avoid repetition. Following the publication of the report and subsequent pressure being applied by the flood action group on the relevant authorities, significant clearing of the main drainage routes to the River Ouse took place. The bulk of the surface water drains out of Gilberdyke into the Bishopsoil Drain at the East side of the village and the major part of the system now lies underground, having been enclosed in varying stages from Victorian times with major additions during the 1960s and later. Some of the flooding problems were identified as being contributed to by illegal filling in or culverting of Riparian owned dykes within the village coupled with lack of maintenance by owners and statutory authorities.
(See Mason Clark Flood Report)
