Sybil enters the room and Goole continues his interrogation, revealing that Eva was also known as Daisy Renton.

Despite vigorous cross-examination from Goole, Sybil denies any wrongdoing.

Sheila begs her mother not to continue, but Goole plays his final card, making Sybil admit that the " drunken young man " should give a ' public confession, accepting all the blame '.

The play had its first English production in 1946 at the New Theatre in London with Ralph Richardson as Inspector Goole, Harry Andrews as Gerald Croft, Margaret Leighton as Sheila Birling, Julian Mitchell as Arthur Birling, Marian Spencer as Sybil Birling and Alec Guinness as Eric Birling.

The original production featured Kenneth Cranham as Inspector Goole ( later played by Barry Foster and Philip Whitchurch ), Richard Pasco as Arthur Birling ( later played by Julian Glover, Edward Peel and William Gaunt ), Barbara Leigh Hunt as Sybil Birling ( later played by Judy Parfitt, Margaret Tyzack and Marjorie Yates ), Diana Kent as Sheila Birling ( later played by Sylvestra Le Touzel ) and Louis Hillyer as Gerald Croft.

Kenneth Cranham recreated his role as Inspector Goole with Philip Bosco as Arthur Birling and Rosemary Harris ( later Siân Phillips ) as Sybil Birling.

Daldry returned to re-direct the production and casting includes Nicholas Woodeson returning to the role of Inspector Goole ( he previously took over that role from Kenneth Cranham during the same production's Broadway run in 1994 ) and David Roper as Arthur Birling, Sandra Duncan as Sybil Birling, Marianne Oldham as Sheila Birling, Robin Whiting as Eric Birling, Timothy Watson as Gerald Croft and Diana Payne Myers as Edna.

The play starred Tom Mannion as Inspector Goole, Karen Archer as Sybil Birling, Geoff Leesley as Arthur Birling, John Sackville as Gerald Croft, Kelly Hotten as Sheila Birling, Henry Gilbert as Eric Birling and Janie Booth as Edna.

Alastair Sim starred as Inspector Goole, renamed " Poole " for the film, with Jane Wenham as Eva Smith, Eileen Moore as Sheila Birling, Arthur Young as Arthur Birling, Brian Worth as Gerald Croft, Olga Lindo as Sybil Birling and Bryan Forbes as Eric Birling.

Bernard Hepton starred as Inspector Goole, and the cast included Sarah Berger as Sheila Birling, Nigel Davenport as Arthur Birling, Simon Ward as Gerald Croft, Margaret Tyzack as Sybil Birling and David Sibley as Eric Birling.

On 14 July 2007 BBC Radio 7 broadcast an adaptation by John Foley originally aired on the BBC World Service, starring Bob Peck as Inspector Goole, John Woodvine as Arthur Birling and Maggie Steed as Sybil Birling.

As the leader of a women's charitable organisation, she assumes a social and moral superiority over Inspector Goole, whose questioning style she frequently refers to as " impertinent " and " offensive ".

Many critics and audiences have interpreted Goole ’ s role as an “ avenging angel ” or a supernatural being because of his unexplained foreknowledge of events, his prophetic final speech in which he says that humanity will learn its lesson in “ fire and blood and anguish ” ( referring to the First World War, two years after the setting of the play 1912 ) and even because of his name, which plays on the word “ ghoul ” ( meaning “ ghost ”).

In the 18th and 19th centuries there was considerable commercial traffic on the river, mainly from Selby, which then had a custom house, downstream, but after 1826 with the opening of the Aire and Calder Navigation most traffic was concentrated on the port of Goole, which continues until today, though the coal trade which formed its backbone has ceased.

The compartments or tubs would be unloaded into ships by a hydraulic hoist at Goole, which would lift them from the water and tip them over.

During the 1960s, the navigation underwent another modernisation scheme, in which the locks from Goole to Leeds were upgraded and enlarged to accommodate vessels conforming to the 700-tonne Euro-barge standard.

Experiments were made with trains of four pans, which allowed copper pipes to be carried on top of the coal for delivery to Goole, but this was short-lived.

Following flooding and riots, a new outlet was cut from Newbridge to Goole, which was known as the Dutch River.

One of the most notable features is the bridge crossing the River Ouse west of Goole, a structure nearly long, rising to above ground level, which commenced construction in January 1973.

As a Methodist minister, his ministries included Goole ; the Methodist Central Hall, Carlisle ( 1914 – 26 ); Huddersfield ( 1926 – 29 ); and the King Cross Methodist Chapel, Halifax ( 1929 – 39 ), after which ill health forced him to give up the ministry.

As a result of a lawsuit in 1633, he dug the Dutch River which provided a direct route from the Don to the River Ouse at Goole, depleting most of the land that he had acquired in the Chase, though the same year he bought of land in Sedgemoor on the Somerset Levels and Malvern Chase in Worcestershire and entered into a partnership in the lead mines in Wirksworth which he drained by means of a sough.

In 1846, the railway financier George Hudson proposed a line from Goole to be called the Isle of Axholme, Gainsborough and York and North Midland Junction Railway, which failed to obtain an Act of Parliament, but much of its route was used by the railway which did eventually get built.

A public enquiry held in Goole on 8 October 1897 showed that the plans, which would cost £ 59, 602 to implement, had local support, and the farmers club estimated that the railway would carry 51, 625 tons of agricultural produce per year.

They paid £ 73, 500 for the Goole and Marshland line, which had been completed, and £ 27, 500 for the Isle of Axholme Light Railway, which was still in the early stages of construction.

Marshland Junction to Haxey was a distance of ,, although working timetables normally showed the distance from Goole, which was from Haxey.

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS ), who had absorbed the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, bought 13 steam railcars in 1926 and 1927, one of which was allocated to Goole shed for work on the Axholme Joint Railway.

Howden lies close to the M62 and the M18 motorways, nearby to Goole which lies at the opposite side of the River Ouse.

This helped to turn round the town's fortunes, which had been suffering since the building of the port at nearby Goole, and the passing of the horse fairs.

The concept of using compartment boats led to discussions with the Aire and Calder Navigation Company, as a result of which it was decided to abandon the plan to develop Keadby, and instead use the existing port facilities at Goole.

As the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Company had yet to take control of any canals, an agreement was negotiated, which would see the Aire and Calder obtaining an Act of Parliament to authorise construction of a straight canal from Bramwith on the River Don to a point some above Goole.

The family is visited by a man calling himself Inspector Goole, who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman, Eva Smith ( also known as Daisy Renton ).

Inspector Goole arrives and explains that a woman called Eva Smith killed herself by drinking strong disinfectant.

Goole produces a photograph of Eva and shows it to Arthur, who acknowledges that she worked in one of his mills.

After prompting from Goole, she admits to recognizing Eva as well.

Goole reveals that Gerald had installed Eva as his mistress, and gave her money and promises of continued support before ending the relationship.

Eric enters the room, and after brief questioning from Goole, he breaks down, admitting that he drunkenly forced Eva to have sex and stole £ 50 from his father's business to pay her off when she became pregnant.

A mysterious interrogator who introduces himself as " Inspector Goole ", claiming that he has seen the dead body of Eva / Daisy earlier that day after her slow and painful suicide by swallowing disinfectant, and that he has “ a duty ” to investigate the Birlings ’ responsibility for her death.

Throughout the play, it is suggested that Goole knows everything about Eva / Daisy ’ s life and the Birlings ’ involvement in her death, and is interrogating the family solely to reveal their guilt rather than to discover unknown information.

In Goole ’ s final speech, Eva Smith is referred to as a representative for millions of other vulnerable working class people, and can be read as a call to action for English society to take more responsibility for working class people, pre-figuring the development of the post World War II welfare state.

Northern Rail operate a semi fast service along the line, with most continuing on to Bridlington / Scarborough, calling at Sheffield, Meadowhall, Doncaster, Goole, Brough, Hull, most of these services also continue fast to Bridlington calling only at Cottingham, Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington.

On Sundays there is generally an hourly fast service between Sheffield and Hull calling at Goole and a two-hourly service all stops to Doncaster and Sheffield that starts / terminates here.

There is an hourly service from Knottingley to both the nearby cities of Leeds and Wakefield ( Kirkgate ) via Pontefract Monkhill with one train to / two trains from Goole each weekday.