Archive

  • Heritage you want to save

    TEN days ago, York conservationist Alison Sinclair put forward the case for a "local list" of important buildings. There are, she argued, many important buildings in York which do not meet the stringent criteria necessary to be given a national statutory

  • Aldwark down memory lane

    THE transformation of the Aldwark area of York was at the heart of Lord Esher's vision for the city when he wrote his famous report, published in 1968. Lord Esher saw a future where industrial buildings could be taken out of the city and people brought

  • Lighting-up time

    A GRAND dame by day, a sultry beauty by night - York displays her bejewelled finery after dark. The nightscape transforms the city as street lamps or floodlights lend an even greater grandeur to the historic buildings. A time exposure eradicates the traffic

  • Blueprint for a better city

    CLIMB aboard the Yesterday Once More time machine, and hold on tight. Today, we are going back to the future. This journey is brought to you by Kathleen Shilleto, from Stockton-on-the-Forest, York. She read our feature late last month headlined, "Where's

  • Classic day at York races

    ROYAL Ascot at York is a one-off, a first, unprecedented. One of the biggest meetings of the racing year is to be shifted North. Up to 60,000 racegoers from around the country are expected at Knavesmire each day during the 2005 festival. The city will

  • A real basinful of change on Foss

    THIS week's Yesterday Once More comes from one of York's busiest areas around the River Foss. The picture, from 1956, shows the dredger, Reklaw, gliding slowly under Layerthorpe Bridge. The barge was later converted into a pleasure craft for disabled

  • 20 things you never knew about Ryedale

    1. Religious hermits were the original residents of Ryedale's most remote outposts. Edmund was first at Farndale, Osmund at Goathland and the Saintly Godric in Eskdale 2.The earliest hospital outside York in the area was formed at Goathland in 1119 when

  • Freeze frame... from winters of the past

    AS YORK and North Yorkshire shiver in the cold snap, we take readers back to the days when winter really used to bite. Our first picture, from 1958, shows early morning skater Sheila Prickett enjoying the Rowntree Park lake all to herself. Must have been

  • A spiky old topic

    A FEW centuries back, anyone looking up at the grandeur of Micklegate Bar may have found a pair of lifeless eyes staring back at them. For the main gateway into the city once served as a gruesome gallery for the severed heads of traitors. It was a very

  • Scarborough's 'secret' gems

    THE seaside's not just for summer. Few would make Scarborough their first choice January destination, but you don't need to brave the beach to enjoy a day out in the town. There is plenty of interest in the ancient streets to warm the cockles of any history

  • Birth stories at Fulford

    IT was one of York's most unprepossessing buildings. But, for countless residents, it was the first place they ever saw. Many mums will have happy memories of Fulford Maternity Hospital. It closed down 20 years ago this month and with it went a chunk

  • The day Arthur's war was over

    TOMORROW will be emotional for Arthur Briggs. "I think it will be a bit tearful on both sides," the 82-year-old confessed, his eyes misting over at the prospect. Sixty years ago tomorrow, on December 2, 1943, Arthur flew his last mission of the war. To

  • A cliffhanger ending

    With news that York's Odeon Cinema could be about to close, MATTHEW WOODCOCK looks back at its 66-year history. SCOTT of the Antarctic was the most successful film ever shown at the York Odeon. Its popularity in 1948 with both schoolchildren and adults

  • Great pub days

    WE all know about the glorious history of York pubs. That there were 365, one for each day of the year. That the 19th and 20th centuries were a boom time for pubs. That this irritating cult for changing their names is a modern phenomenon. Think again.

  • Fiery nights to remember

    THE spirits should have settled down for another year now that Hallowe'en is behind us. But that does not mean an end to nightly disturbances. This week things will not only go bump in the night, they will go flash, bang and wallop too. The loudest festivities

  • All hail the king of cabs

    Sunderland-based historian Keith Gregson recalls a York-born inventor. DO you ever wonder what it must be like to leave your name to posterity - how nice it would be to be a Lennon or McCartney, a Bach or a Michelangelo? Better still to have a name attached

  • When the Pope came to town

    THE Pope is this week celebrating his 25th anniversary as head of the Catholic Church. So today we look back at his great visit to York 21 years ago, when tens of thousands of people descended on Knavesmire to honour the pontiff. On a sweltering hot day

  • Get back in the groove

    YORK music of yesteryear can now be enjoyed all over again. York Oral History Society's music project last year resulted in two books, an exhibition, and tapes of interviews with many people involved in the city's music scene, together with over 1,700

  • Past postings

    SOME space for Yesterday Once More readers' comments is long overdue. So this week I unlocked the Evening Press safe to air some of those precious memories. We begin by hailing back to the summer, when we looked back at the opening of Rowntree Park to

  • Town flows with history

    CRAG Rats will be delighted. So keen were they to get hold of Arnold Kellett's book the first time round, that it quickly sold out. Now Images of England: Knaresborough has been republished, with some of the captions updated. And it is already being snapped

  • When I ran for our supper

    AS we say in newspapers, this story has legs. A fortnight ago, I reported the many responses to my original appeal for information about city athletics club York Harriers. That piece included the memories of Fred Mitchell and Herbert Baker, 93 and 92

  • Sporting life of York Harriers

    SPORT fans will be glued to the box this Bank Holiday to watch if Britain's athletes can run, jump and fling their way on to the medals podium. The ninth World Athletics Champion-ships is a festival of fitness, pitting the globe's finest and fastest against

  • Of horses, hills and Horcum

    NORTH Yorkshire is littered with legends of great serpents, dragons and worms - none more gruesome than that of the Sexhow Worm. This fearsome serpent, so the story goes, had a poisoned tongue, breathed fire and smoke, and had teeth as large as the prongs

  • Making of the Minster

    ThERE is something humbling about the thought of embarking on a building project that will take 250 years to complete. In these days of instant gratification, such monumental patience seems inconceivable. Thankfully, our medieval forbears were made of

  • Pledging to help the poor

    ON Wednesday, October 14, 1778, Samuel Robinson left his home in Walmgate, York, with something under his arm. He made his way towards the city centre before ducking into the dark alley called Lady Peckett's Yard. There he pushed open the door underneath

  • Why Plane City never took off

    THESE sleek aeroplanes should have had York stamped all over them. They were designed and built by Airspeed Ltd, the aircraft factory set up in York - but which later relocated, lock, stock and undercarriage, to the more forward-thinking town of Portsmouth

  • Roll back years to Easter past

    WHAT does Easter mean to you? Church thanksgiving services and hymns, perhaps. Bonnets, daffodils, days out. Chocolate heaven, or traffic jam hell? For most of us it means time off. But what did people do at Easter before the special episodes of their

  • When York was a city of Angels

    IN 1968, a group of young men in their late teens and early twenties were having the time of their lives in London. Wearing their hair long and their clothes flowery, this talented quintet performed what was described as "harmony-based acid pop" as the

  • Memories of a country childhood

    DAISY Naylor is 93, but vividly remembers her childhood on a farm near Stamford Bridge. It was both a harder and a freer upbringing than children know today, and her tale of rural life early in the last century makes for fascinating reading. We have Mrs

  • York's golden gild

    HERE'S a riddle. Which tradition, established more than 800 years ago, is only celebrating its 50th anniversary this year? The answer is the Gild of the Freemen of the City of York. The earliest register of freemen in York Archives dates from 1272, the

  • How to log on to local history

    IF you are interested in the past and are on the internet, you can step back in time with the National Grid for Learning's local history trail. The Government-funded National Grid for Learning website is running an online local history trail to encourage

  • Journey back to time of the trams

    IF you want to be transported back to the past there are only two ways to go: by steam train, or by tram. Next to a gleaming old locomotive, the most nostalgic thing on wheels is the good old tramcar. There is no tram equivalent to the National Railway

  • We had a ball

    RECENTLY we exhibited for your viewing pleasure selections of photographs from the 1951 York Festival. This was our city's contribution to the post-war celebration of nationhood, the Festival of Britain. That inspired a flurry of letters, and a phone

  • Sweet rush

    FIFTY years ago tomorrow, the Government ended sweet rationing. Nearly eight years after Victory in Europe, the limit on jelly babies, pastilles, liquorice, barley sugar sticks, lemonade powder and chocolate bars was finally lifted - and a nation of schoolchildren

  • Back to ice age

    LAST Friday, we revealed that the spring flowers had already sprung in one York garden, testament to remarkably mild weather for a month after Christmas. That contrasts sharply to one of Yorkshire's bitterest winters 40 years ago. It all began just before

  • Relating to York's history

    HERE'S a new twist on family history: a mother and son who have both written books about times past. Audrey and Chris Corbett's publications are very different in terms of scope and content, but equally interesting to a devotee of social history. Chris's

  • Looking at the books

    AFTER last week's look in the postbag, this week we retire into the Yesterday Once More library. This is expanding all the time: the burgeoning interest in local history ensures a continuous flow of new books about all manner of people, places and periods

  • Supporting cast

    THE first Yesterday Once More of the New Year seems a good moment to dip into the postbag. We have more faces for you to identify and more memories prompted by previous articles. First we take to the river bank. The wonderfully evocative photograph of

  • Christmas past

    POST-war austerity was gone, and a social revolution was about to explode. So Christmas 40 years ago was a curious mix of traditional celebrations and modern consumer boom. There was plenty of non-seasonal fare to interest the Evening Press reader in

  • Mile mannered man

    ONE day you might spot him. The first clue will be his motorbike, parked by the roadside. Then your eye will be caught by the rider hacking back at the verge weeds, or perhaps clicking away with his camera and making detailed notes in a pad. Don't worry

  • John, Paul, George, Ringo and Daphne

    YORK music lover Ian Jeffery has always loved The Beatles. "I was in The Beatles fan club in the Sixties," he said. "Although I never actually saw them, I've always been a keen Beatles collector." That collection has ebbed and flowed over the years. Once

  • When York got rhythm

    WRITER Van Wilson has, during the past three years, interviewed scores of musicians for York Oral History Society. Extracts from these interviews form the basis of two books celebrating the city's vibrant live music scene from 1930 to 1970. The first

  • Plugging book gap in city of delights

    DAY after day, residents and tourists would make the same inquiry. Do you have a concise history of York? Eventually, a group of booksellers at Waterstone's began to realise that maybe they had discovered a gap in the market. They endeavoured to do something

  • Real steam spirit

    NORMAN Johnston was brought up some distance away from the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). His childhood home was many miles and a stretch of water away from London; and although he lived in the north-east, as a Fermanagh kid, that was the

  • Race officials try to avoid gridlock

    RACING officials today played down concerns about hundreds of thousands of spur-of-the-moment punters flocking to York for Royal Ascot. The possibility of colossal crowds - and potential traffic gridlock - was raised after York race committee chairman

  • Fighters of Fulford

    ON a warm September day almost 1,000 years ago, a line of English soldiers crouched behind a wall of shields in the marshes beside the River Ouse at what is now Fulford Ings. Ranged against them were the 7,000 or so Viking troops of the Norwegian king

  • 'Lawful money' bequest still city people

    Holy Trinity is still providing for the needy, 30 years after redundancy, as LEIGH WETHERALL writes THREE hundred and twenty five years ago, a death in the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Whitechapel, London, was to have a far-reaching, long-lasting effect

  • The Groves grow up

    YOU should never look back, they say. No good comes of it. Try telling that to Avril Webster Appleton. The York author has been peering over her shoulder in print for several years, bringing back many happy memories for local people in the process. Her

  • I know that face

    A DIP into the postbag is well overdue, and what better time to sit back and enjoy some of your responses to Yesterday Once More than Bank Holiday Monday? Lots of faces to scrutinise in our photographs, but first, we return to the theme of our previous

  • Golden age of the flicks

    TIM Addyman is too young to remember what is often called cinema's golden age. At 29, he marks the start of his film-going adventures with an unforgettable trip to see George Lucas's 1977 science fiction classic Star Wars. But there is something about

  • Everyday story of the village people

    BY Yorkshire standards, Yeoman Williamson is still a relative newcomer to Grosmont. He has, he points out, lived in the North York Moors village for 'only' 50 years. It may seem a little presumptuous of him, then, to have attempted to write a history

  • Is Nestl next?

    THE decision of Terry's of York to leave the city is a great disappointment to residents, particularly the employees and their families, many of whom have had connections with the company for several generations. However, our MP Hugh Bayley, the Evening

  • Motherly myths and mysteries

    MOTHER Shipton is a legend. Ask anyone about her, and they are likely to scratch together a few facts: witch, prophetess, lived in a cave... Yet despite this fame, no one had undertaken a serious, historical study into her life. Until now. Yorkshire historian

  • Hospital radio tonic

    I WISH to add to the recent plaudits for York Hospital by thanking the dedicated team of volunteers from York Hospital Radio. I was visiting my uncle when two of their presenters entered the ward. Their manner was sensitive and professional and their

  • A dramatic century

    THE words amateur dramatics conjure up a variety of images, few of them flattering, which usually involve draughty village halls, variable singing skills and shaky stage sets. But a York group of accomplished amateur performers continues to dispel that

  • Shame the vandals

    I READ the article about the decision made by the Evening Press to reveal the names of known youngsters who vandalise and terrorise their neighbours ('Justice must be seen to be done', May 4), and wondered at the almost apologetic tone used. What is wrong

  • Spread the load

    DR Simon Ward (Letters, May 5) should be aware that vehicle excise duty was originally known as the road fund licence, a title which needs no further explanation. The public roads in this country are used not only by motorists but also by cyclists, pedestrians

  • Pirates of the airwaves

    LAST week we journeyed to Bridlington and Scarborough to reminisce about bygone summer holidays. This week we return to the Yorkshire coast for an altogether more swashbuckling tale of pirates on the high seas. These pirates did not brandish cutlasses

  • Why even fewer people will vote at next General Election

    WHEN the country kicked out John Major and his gang in 1997, I felt we had seen the end of incompetent politicians, but recent events have made me think again. In its place we have a Government that has connived at the illegal occupation of Iraq, is determined

  • The day Mr Frith captured the coast

    THE North Sea coast is again celebrating its maritime history. Last month Whitby welcomed the Grand Turk, the square-rigged fighting frigate made famous by the TV series Hornblower. On Friday she was joined by one of the greatest stars of the sea: HMS

  • The millers' tales

    IS there any more nostalgic sight than a windmill? Memories of these monuments to England's past are prompted by a new book, kicking off Yesterday Once More's survey of the latest additions to the bygones bookshelf. Whitby author Alan Whitworth has produced

  • Living hell of D-Day on French beaches

    LAST Thursday marked the anniversary of D-Day. Fifty-eight years earlier, the Allied invasion force had landed in Normandy as the long-awaited Operation Overlord got underway; by midnight, 155,000 troops were ashore, for the loss of 9,000 men. Among the

  • Such celebrations

    ON this Royal holiday, it is fitting to begin Yesterday Once More with some monarchical memories. Readers have brought in their own mementoes of previous days of pomp and pageantry. Pauline Wilson was clearing out "some of my junk" when she came across

  • Keeping Dickens alive

    CHARLES Dickens was in York on Friday. Cedric Charles Dickens that is, great grandson of the commanding Victorian writer. He was taking up a long-standing invitation by the Dickens Fellowship, York branch. Mr Dickens is rightly proud of his famous forebear

  • Night the bombs fell across York

    WHEN the sun came up over York 60 years ago today, it exposed scenes of devastation. Houses were destroyed, the Guildhall burnt out. The Bar Convent had collapsed, killing five nuns. Pavements were littered with rubble and shattered glass. Huge craters

  • Deported to Oz

    THE York Assizes were kept pretty busy during the convict era. Exactly 200 years ago Thomas Peters, a 26-year-old labourer, stood in the dock accused of "stealing old silver plate, including ten pint cups," says Marjorie Tipping in her book Convicts Unbound

  • Royal picture recalled

    THIS week we remember the Queen Mother's first visit to York. Readers will recall how we published a photograph of the Duke and Duchess of York, as the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were then, and asked for your help in identifying it last

  • Royal picture puzzle

    EVERYONE loves a good mystery, and this one can only be solved by you. Take a look at our main picture this week. Ring a distant bell? Recognise any of the faces? The photograph is from the collection of Walter Hawksby, of Acomb, York. It is a royal occasion

  • Doctor knew best

    IN the early years of the last century, York's heritage was imperilled by progress. Landmarks across the city were under threat from roads, trams and an over-zealous council. Then along came a doughty and persistent conservationist who fought to save

  • Charity begins at home

    NEW Earswick is not so new any more. This year is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the "garden village", and the centenary celebrations began in appropriate fashion last week with the planting of a commemorative oak tree. More events are planned

  • Staying power of city hotels

    THE Royal York Hotel is being rechristened. Under its new name, it is no longer Royal or York, although it will remain a hotel. A Le Mridien hotel, to be precise, part of the global chain established in Paris by Air France 30 years ago. John Shannon,

  • When bombers filled the skies

    ELVINGTON Airfield could soon be flying into a new future. The owners have applied for an aerodrome licence, allowing it to take fare-paying passengers for the first time. It is the latest chapter in the history of an airfield which once played a key

  • Tales of the hangman

    STEPHEN LEWIS discovers the hangmen of York were less than model citizens ANY delving into the murkier aspects of York's past is bound to yield copious details - some true, some mere legend - about the lives and deaths of the city's two most notorious

  • Festive seasons when times were hard

    TONIGHT, revellers will pack the pubs and bars. As the countdown draws closer, many will gather outside York Minster to hear the bells ring out the old and ring in the new. Arms will be linked, kisses exchanged and a chorus of Auld Lang Syne belted out

  • Book a date with history

    AS the success of television series like Battlefields and Blood Of The Vikings has proved, there's a huge public appetite for history. If someone you know loves to travel back in time, a history book makes the perfect Christmas present. For those who

  • Out in the foothills

    The snow made for a magical walk just out of Pickering, leaving George Wilkinson happily alone in a sea of white. THE snow came and so not to miss out on the fun, I popped along to Aislaby, a mile from Pickering, and took one of the numerous tracks that

  • Ure not kidding

    George Wilkinson follows a circular path out of Leyburn, ending up back at the market. LEYBURN is the hub of lower Wensleydale, and interesting, but we wanted to make the best of the sunshine, so had a quick coffee in the Golden Lion and then headed out

  • Bright and bitter

    George Wilkinson finds a warm welcome, a chilly wind and a motorcyclist's bare behind. SAWDON and the warmth of its Anvil Inn lay somewhere a couple of miles south-east. To the south the Wolds shone milky bright the far side of the flatland Carrs. The

  • Flooded with history

    MARK REID concludes his Dales stint by setting out from the delightful village green at Bainbridge. BAINBRIDGE is a delightful Dales village with a sprawling village green overlooked by a 15th Century inn. In medieval times this large green had an important

  • Late Dales days

    While George Wilkinson is away, MARK REID steps in with a Dales walk around Askrigg. UPPER Wensleydale offers some of the finest walking country in England with incredibly contrasting scenery. Late autumn is a great time to explore the maze of footpaths

  • Middle march

    GEORGE WILKINSON takes a stroll to Middlesmoor, high in Nidderdale. Middlesmoor is a little village perched high up at a thousand feet in Upper Nidderdale, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A local woman out with her lurcher said that "it has probably

  • City crowd in on click start

    A SUCCESSFUL start to the next season's Conference campaign could seriously boost City boss Chris Brass' transfer funds. City's board have sensibly based their wage budget for 2004/2005 on average attendances of 2,000 during the club's first taste of

  • Up and under

    George Wilkinson savours a late-summer outing on the Cleveland Hills. The Lord Stones Caf is secluded and isolated and ever so interesting. Miles from anywhere, nearly 1,000 feet up on the Cleveland Hills, it is also literally half buried in the ground

  • Not a sign after the kissing gate

    George Wilkinson walks across farmland in the evening and returns as the bats come out. SOMETIMES walks over farmland can be bothersome with beasts, barbed wire and all. However we were confident that today's five miles, from Great Barugh, near Malton

  • Wise shines as star of the Orient

    STUART Wise moved up to sixth spot in the Evening Press Player of the Year standings after his goal-scoring man-of-the-match display against Leyton Orient. The 20-year-old defender took top honours for the third time this season, edging out teenage winger

  • Easy does it

    GEORGE WILKINSON gets going on an easy route around Grassington. Grassington was quiet before the daily rush. We bought sandwiches and drove on over the River Wharfe the mile to Threshfield, not such an interesting village but a good place to start. And

  • Away ranks at home

    WITH the Bootham Crescent Fans' Match tomorrow (ko 3pm), we complete our look at the teams on show with a profile of the remaining away team players. Paul Worthington (shirt number nine): Having followed City for 30 years, Paul lists Keith Walwyn as his

  • Four-ton haul is far from Petty

    Thirsk skipper Barry Petty took his 400th Hunters the Estate Agent York and District Senior League top-flight wicket when he struck the first blow in a game played at Sessay because of Thirsk races. Petty, who is more than 100 wickets ahead of his nearest

  • Over the heather

    George Wilkinson roams around the rim of the Hole of Horcum. The Hole of Horcum is one enormous hole in the ground. Holiday makers driving over the North York Moors pull off the road, gaze at a depression big enough to swallow all the houses of Whitby

  • Darren's the man for Malt

    Darren Wyrill maintained his run of high scores as Malton batted first against Hull Zingari and was probably denied a second successive three-figure score by a reduction in the overs from 48 to 30. He made an unbeaten 70, having helped Neil Johnson, 74

  • Temple tour

    In this 350th walk for the Evening Press, George Wilkinson goes for an enjoyable and easy stroll around Escrick. ESCRICK is nice and convenient for a Bank Holiday outing from York or Selby, a quick nip along the A19. And we enjoyed ourselves on this toddle

  • Grayson the pick of attack

    Andrew Grayson recorded the best bowling figures of the day when he followed his 42 in Pickering's 115-7 with 8-26 in 17 overs to wipe out Clifton Alliance for 81. Jim Feaster lent a hand with the bat when he chipped in with 30 in support of Grayson as

  • Opening power

    Selby openers Ian Lake and Matt Hoyle appear to have converted their fifth division form into fourth division power, the pair sharing an opening stand of 109 against Easingwold before Lake fell for 70. His youthful companion went on to make an unbeaten

  • Jackson heights

    Dunnington sit top after Alan Jackson's men earned a 38-run win over Hovingham despite being dismissed for 106. Paul Olivier 30 and Gary Andrew 24 contributed half their side's runs as Mike Hemmingway became the first bowler to pass the 20-wicket mark

  • A dam good walk

    MARK REID brings a flooded village back to life as he walks round Thruscross Reservoir in the Washburn Valley. THRUSCROSS Reservoir is the uppermost of the four large reservoirs along the beautiful Washburn Valley; it is also perhaps the most intriguing

  • Bolton wander

    While George Wilkinson takes a rest, MARK REID enjoys superb views as he explores the wonderful countryside around Bolton Priory and the River Wharfe. BOLTON Abbey is perhaps Wharfedale's most famous landmark, however, strictly speaking this name relates

  • Go wild

    GEORGE WILKINSON discovers there's plenty to do at the end of the line in Pickering. The 10.30am Moorsbus transported us from Pickering, via Thornton-le-Dale, past Dalby Forest where Status Quo were set to shake their timbers, to peaceful Lockton on the

  • Here for the beer

    A merry George Wilkinson follows part of the Inn Way through Rosedale. Beer and walking boots were the order of the day in Rosedale Abbey where a pair of size 13s hung over a brand new 'Inn Way' signpost. Andy Wilson, the boss of the North York Moors

  • In a dale of delight

    GEORGE WILKINSON sets off on a walk in the western Dales where he finds a blissful sense of nothing much having changed. THIS route in the western Dales seemed just the job for a long summer's day. So we made an early start, drove through Pateley Bridge

  • Into the valley

    We started in the Dudley Arms at Ingleby Greenhow, shifted down the road to their car park, many thanks for this, and discarding all but summer gear, strolled out to explore the little valley south-east of the village. It is a notch of a valley, flat

  • Hide and seek

    George Wilkinson has to get his compass out to navigate his way to Danby Beacon. The weather forecast pinned up at The Moors Centre read 'sunny spells, rain later' so we didn't dawdle and nipped up through the trees to a gate to grassland and another

  • Falling for Askrigg

    George Wilkinson chooses a bad day but finds a good walk... ASKRIGG had hardly changed since our last visit in 1999, a little town by-passed in the time of turnpike roads, to slumber until resurrected by James Herriot - All Creatures Great And Small was

  • Abbey days

    GEORGE WILKINSON suggests an Easter walk to Rievaulx. Rievaulx Abbey, the onetime "shining light of northern monasticism", looked big, beautiful and intricate. A sign pointed up the valley and read 'footpath to Bow Bridge', we took it. Local dog walkers

  • Windmilling around

    George Wilkinson arrives late in the southern Wolds to be charmed by a windmill... WE HIT the southern Wolds late in the day, but didn't think it would matter. The navigator's migraine had subsided, and as we walked out of Skidby there were some strollers

  • Here's one for the Chop

    George Wilkinson has a grand day out when he climbs the Cleveland Hills at Chop Gate. WE SET off late to give the sun time to burn the mist off the Cleveland Hills, and a dozen or so cars were already lined up in the car park at the village of Chop Gate

  • Highs and lows

    George Wilkinson chooses the low road when he arrives in Wensleydale WE TRAVELLED to Wensleydale with two walks in mind, high and low. As the fell tops were invisible we played safe, took the pretty option and settled on the village of West Witton. In

  • More to Monkton

    GEORGE WILKINSON pops into a pottery on a leisurely walk near Ripon Canal. Bishop Monkton is described on a website as 'quaint and quiet'. It's more than that, quite lovely, and we had a pleasant pre-amble along its beck admiring the fine old houses.

  • Cross country

    GEORGE WILKINSON heads for the hills to savour a snow-scattered landscape Snow had fallen, a good few inches, the thermometer read freezing, almost anywhere would have been lovely, but because mist quilted the low-lying lands we headed for the hills.

  • The rebirth of Bedern

    YORK is always crowded at this time of year. But those in the know can find city centre tranquillity even when the footstreets are at their most hectic. That is because York has laid on a series of escape routes. All over the city, little alleyways lead

  • Neil's facing up to fame

    HERE is the man whose ever-present smile is being used to face down the opposition in York. For Neil Ballantyne, commercial banking manager of HSBC Bank in the city, is his employer's answer to bespectacled Howard Brown, the Halifax Bank's ubiquitous

  • A close-run thing for innovators

    A York-based tourism attractions company has been shortlisted for another two awards. The Continuum Group, in Margaret Street, York, is in the finals of the UK Museums And Heritage Show Awards For Excellence. It is in the running for the title of Best

  • Motivation is name of the game

    A MOTIVATIONAL speakers' jamboree is planned at the Royal York Hotel next month. Already 35 business organisations from all over the UK have booked for the Experience The Difference event on June 9. It is being organised by Clive Gott, the firefighter

  • Profiting from thinking green

    PLANS are afoot to follow up last month's successful Business And Environmental Conference near York. The one-day conference, conceived and hosted by York-based commercial law firm Denison Till, attracted 150 delegates. Sophie Howitt, sustainable development

  • Defence delights Knights chief

    HEAD coach Richard Agar lauded the belief in his York City Knights side and their 'outstanding' defence after watching them win 30-16 at Barrow Raiders on Sunday. The Knights fought back from 16-0 down in the first quarter to score 22 unanswered points

  • My son was also bullied, says Esther

    TV personality Esther Rantzen told today how her own son was bullied at school, when she addressed a York conference in York aimed at tackling the problem. She also compared bullying in schools with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, saying the horrifying

  • Raiders 16, Knights 30

    BARROW coach Peter Roe has often claimed York were the biggest spending National League Two club and were thus the favourites for promotion. He did so again yesterday in his post-match press conference, when he also suggested the Knights were benefiting

  • Race officials try to avoid gridlock

    RACING officials today played down concerns about hundreds of thousands of spur-of-the-moment punters flocking to York for Royal Ascot. The possibility of colossal crowds - and potential traffic gridlock - was raised after York race committee chairman

  • Referendum? Young voters know nothing about it

    CIVIC leaders in North York-shire have expressed concern at research suggesting that nine out of ten younger voters know little or nothing about a crucial vote which could change the face of local government in the county. The Government will hold a referendum

  • Teachers get a soaking

    SOAKING "Sir" with water proved a real hit with youngsters at a York school fair. Eager pupils lined up to drench teachers stuck in the stocks at Copmanthorpe Primary School's spring craft fair on Saturday. Head teacher Judith Rigg said other highlights

  • My son was also bullied, says Esther

    TV personality Esther Rantzen told today how her own son was bullied at school, when she addressed a York conference in York aimed at tackling the problem. She also compared bullying in schools with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, saying the horrifying

  • Lib Dems select their man

    A LEADING York Liberal Democrat is hoping to make it third time lucky and become the city's MP at the next general election. City of York Council deputy leader Andrew Waller, who has fought the City of York seat twice before, was on Saturday selected

  • Four-ton haul is far from Petty

    Thirsk skipper Barry Petty took his 400th Hunters the Estate Agent York and District Senior League top-flight wicket when he struck the first blow in a game played at Sessay because of Thirsk races. Petty, who is more than 100 wickets ahead of his nearest

  • Attendances rise at doomed centre

    ATTENDANCES are on the up at York Barbican Centre - despite confusion surrounding its immediate future. The number of crowd-pulling events held at the flagship complex has also shown a "welcome improvement" on last year. The news comes only days before

  • Sabre rattling Tim

    Tim Bresnan gave the best all-round performance of his career as Yorkshire Phoenix cut Somerset Sabres to pieces to win by 145 runs in the totesport League at Taunton on Sunday. The England Under-19s player first blasted 49 off only 27 balls with seven

  • Building work blamed for homes cracks

    A GROUP of York neighbours say they are claiming for damages likely to run into thousands of pounds against a national house builder - because they say building work opposite them has caused large cracks inside their houses. The residents, who live in

  • Things to do before your kid is five

    When you are having a baby, you think about all the lovely things you will do in those first few vital years to nurture and develop the beautiful bond you share. Then they arrive and you don't have time to brush your teeth, never mind nurture and share

  • Somnus can win the day for Tim - 10/05/04

    Somnus, the star of Tim Easterby's Great Habton yard, makes his eagerly awaited reappearance tomorrow as York's exciting 2004 programme gets underway. The mount of regular rider Ted Durcan, Somnus is one of 15 runners in the opening-day showpiece, the

  • Price rises fury at York cinema

    YORK Odeon campaigners believe cinema bosses are deliberately driving away customers - by putting the prices up. Odeon expert Derek Atkins, from The Mount, claimed the decision to bump up ticket fees by 50p to £4.50 from Friday was a tactic to deter people

  • Scorecards

    May 8-9 Premier Division Beverley Town (18) drew with York II (7). Beverley Town 195-8 (O Grantham 83, A Burton 34, G Mackfall 3-27) York II 132-5 (A Kay 64no). Easingwold (26) beat Heworth (2). Heworth 115 (D A Simpson 33, D Slabbert 27, G Rees 3-28,

  • It's right up your street!

    THE monarchy's golden age is currently being celebrated, with this week's 50th anniversary of the Coronation of Elizabeth II. So for today's Yesterday Once More we are going back to the silver age, Jubilee time 1977. During the Silver Jubilee, Britain

  • Festival steams towards future

    In this week's Yesterday Once More we go back to a time when York helped the whole country party - the 1951 Festival of Britain. The festival was organised to celebrate the centenary of the Great Exhibition and to help Britain recover from the Second

  • No end to popularity of bowls

    WHITE flannels against a green background have always been a familiar sight in York. Men and women's bowling teams have competed in many city tournaments through the decades The sport has remained a favourite with York residents playing indoor or outdoor

  • City fans pitch in with spade work

    NEVER let it be said that York City fans aren't a hands-on bunch. York City Supporters' Trust has now become the football club's new owner. But looking at these photos of Bootham Crescent past, that's not such a surprising outcome. Over the years the

  • Camera on a high in York

    YORK has managed to keep much of its characteristic city outline intact down the years. These pictures from previous editions of the Evening Press illustrate some of the reasons why the historic city has retained that admirable reputation - its varied

  • City choirs in fine voice

    THE great choral history of the area is the theme of today's archive photographs as we celebrate the achievements of York's amateur choirs. Dominating our pictures are the men of the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir who have been entertaining audiences

  • Festival lights up city

    In the summer of 1951, York residents celebrated the Festival Of Britain. After the devastation of war and years of austerity, the Festival aimed to raise the nation's spirits whilst promoting the very best in British art, design and industry. A fancy

  • Blast! The power's off

    A FAILED boiler joint in the early hours of Thursday, October 27, 1949, led to a massive explosion that laid waste to much of York Power Station in Foss Islands Road. Six of the nine staff on duty at the station were injured, supplies to large businesses

  • Power to your elbow

    THIS week our pictorial look- back down the years is all about power. Here you can see some of Yorkshire's mightiest power stations, in various stages of construction, working life and demolition. Our main picture, taken in 1971, shows the contrast between

  • York's dark, Satanic mills

    AS York's skyline becomes increasingly dominated by new apartment blocks and hotels, today we take a look back at the days when slums, mill chimneys and river docks were a more common sight. Our main picture shows a group of children gathered in one of

  • Puff, the magic dragons

    THE iron monsters of yesteryear still hold their appeal, as the enduring popularity of events across our district shows. For example, the Pickering Traction Engine Rally, which took place earlier this month at the Malton Road Showfield, is now in its

  • All is safely gathered in...

    FARMING has dominated the landscape of North and East Yorkshire for many centuries, whether carried out with the help of horses or tractors. This week's pictures from the past show an age when farm work was usually done with manual or animal labour instead

  • Let's do the locomotion

    CONTINUING our look back at a time when steam ruled the rails, here are another set of pictures celebrating the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. A place where time has stood still, the 17-and-a-half mile branch line from Grosmont to Pickering is where the

  • Spanning the years

    THIS week's peek at the past shows the changing face of two York bridges. Thousands of York City fans will be familiar with the railway bridge at the bottom of Grosvenor Terrace, shown here with a steam train running under it in March, 1962. Supporters

  • City's hidden treasure

    We continue our look at some of York's ancient churches and their history. Holy Trinity Church in Goodramgate dates back to the 12th century. By the 1960s it had become redundant and it was restored in the mid-1970s. It was famous for having some of the

  • City's days of glory

    AS football hysteria grips the Far East, our pictorial trip down Memory Lane this week looks at when the glory days were here in York. Two of our pictures tell the story of the Minstermen's glorious conquest of the Fourth Division in 1984, when York City

  • Here endeth the lesson

    THIS WEEK and next week the Evening Press is taking a look at some of York's lost historic places of worship. One such is Salem Congregational Church, built at the junction of Spen Lane and St Saviourgate, in 1839, at a cost of £5,000, to accommodate

  • Come on in - it's lovely!

    THESE historic photographs of Rowntree Park Baths in York chart the once-popular swimming pool's decline over a decade. In the first picture a group of youngsters splash about in the open air pool when it opened for the summer season in 1973, although

  • When the baths took a dive

    ONCE, it was among York's finest buildings. But by 1960, the York Public Baths were in a sorry and dilapidated state. Situated on the banks of the Ouse, years of flooding and neglect began to take their toll. The first picture, taken in November 1960,

  • When it was Carry on, Nurse

    FORMER patients and medical workers may recognise these fascinating historic pictures of former York Hospitals. The 19th century York County Hospital building, in Monkgate, remains as one of the city's most distinguished buildings after the hospital closed

  • Short back and sides...

    ONE of the key sights of spring in York has long been that of "daffodils dancing on the city moats" but keeping the Bar Walls pristine is a major task, as our pictures from the past prove. Our main image, from 1985, shows the finished product that resulted

  • Another look at York's pomp and splendour

    THIS week's Yesterday Once More is the second part of our series of photographs of the Northern Command Military Tattoo. The top picture shows the massed bands, of various regiments, ready to give the Tattoo a rousing send-off. The picture below shows

  • On the Pavement

    SOME of York's most dramatic changes of the last 150 years can be seen in these photographs of Pavement and its historic buildings. The street used to end to the east with the old George Hotel, which was demolished in the 50s to make way for Stonebow,

  • All change for Stonegate

    LOOKING quiet in about 1893 is Stonegate - one of York's most historic streets.The Via Praetoria, or paved street, for the Roman fort of Eboracum, the street has been in use for about 1,900 years. This picture shows the street in more serene times with

  • Rubble, rubble, toil and...

    THESE old photographs show York's former garden suburb reduced to rubble following the demolition of condemned houses in the early 1960s. The Groves - so-called because it contained rows of fruit trees and vegetable plots in Victorian times to supply

  • Street's rise from rubble

    ST Andrewgate is now a sought-after address in the shadow of York Minster. One of its most unusual addresses is number St Andrewgate, a residential development by local architect Tom Adams. But the street has undergone enormous changes, particularly since

  • Waterways were a vital lifeline for businesses in city

    YORK'S riverside may be occupied by trendy bars and exclusive apartments after years of redevelopment, but the buildings are still recognisable in these pictures from the city's more industrial past. For hundreds of years, the Ouse has been the city's

  • Man who hunted the dead dodo

    THE dodo may be dead - so dead, in fact, as to have become the stuff of proverb - but at least the unfortunate flightless bird is not forgotten. And for that, we may have the son of a North Yorkshire clergyman to thank. Harry Pasley Higginson was a true

  • Taking the wind out of its sails

    ONCE York had 20 windmills, but only one survives. Holgate Mill was built in 1792, on the site of a 15th century mill, and now stands in the middle of a roundabout at the top of Windmill Rise. The photograph shows it, then known as Acomb Windmill, as

  • Women at war: Hilda's story

    THE Women's Voluntary Service began before the last war, and is still going strong today. As fears of an impending war grew closer, Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare invited Lady Reading to develop an organisation for the recruitment and training of women

  • The day war nearly broke out

    York historian PETER KIRTON recalls a nerve-racking time as a soldier in post-war Berlin. THE story behind a major incident that happened over 50 years ago has just been fully explained, courtesy of the regimental magazine of the Light Infantry, The Silver

  • Forgotten Flora, York's own hero

    Until BBC war correspondent Kate Adie published her latest book, the name of Flora Sandes had been virtually forgotten. Yet hers is a remarkable tale of a York woman who ignored convention to fight at the front line. WAR heroes such as Flora Sandes are

  • Festive fare from hill and dale

    Today it's mobile phones and EastEnders. But what of Christmas past? Here are some memories which evoke Yuletide yesteryear in Yorkshire. SCHOOL was a different thing at Christmas, and very nice too. We were given crpe paper to make hats, lanterns and

  • Farmer Don shares his old treasures

    IT was a fair way to travel, but when it comes to checking out potential Christmas presents for the history buff in your life, Yesterday Once More will not stint. We journeyed to the edge of Sherburn-in-Elmet to meet Don Bramley, whose family have farmed

  • Beatlemania comes to York

    LAST week we travelled back 40 years to remember a calamity: the day John F Kennedy died. This week we return to November 1963 for some rather more uplifting memories of another icon of the age - The Beatles. Given the grim world situation, it must have

  • Putting history on the map

    IT IS easy to forget when you're barrelling down the motorway at 80mph or stuck in a traffic jam on the York outer ring road, but the landscape in which we live bears upon it the handprint of history. It has been shaped by generations of our ancestors

  • Whitby gems

    JO HAYWOOD puts the work of a pioneering Yorkshire photographer in the frame. Frank Meadow Sutcliffe put Whitby on the map. Born 150 years ago this month, his sepia images of life in the Yorkshire seaside town travelled the globe, collecting praise and

  • Look here for racing's roots

    AS another York racing season comes to an end, we are left to ask: what other attraction could draw a quarter of a million people to the city? Not even the Pope managed that, although to be fair the 210,000 people who came to see him on Knavesmire 21

  • Flickers of life

    IT must have been quite a moment for those gathered at York's Exhibition Hall two days before Christmas in 1896. Suddenly a light flickered in the gloom and the audience were treated to the very latest thing in entertainment - a moving picture show. William

  • Made by the Minster men

    AFTER the monumental scale of the Minster, it must have been refreshing to tackle something on a more human scale. But the stonemasons who built the small parish church in Skelton invested it with the same love and care as they had lavished on York's

  • Take a drive through history

    Local transport historian PETER WHEATLEY takes an evocative trip back in time, stopping off at points along the York to Scarborough road. WITH the seaside town of Scarboro-ugh probably the most popular destination for local holidays and day trips, the

  • Jogging York race memories

    LAST week I asked if anyone had any details about the York Harriers athletics club, prompted by some excellent photos dropped in by Mick Liversidge. And as soon as the starting pistol was fired readers raced to the telephone and email to put me in the

  • Death stalked 'lucky' warriors

    Eddie Eyres met his future wife Pat in wartime York in macabre circumstances that sum up the lives of Australian airmen in Bomber Command in the Second World War. Eddie, a pilot from Queensland, walked into a coffee shop on Stonegate. His wife-to-be was

  • Education of the old school

    THAT'LL Teach 'Em, the new Channel 4 series in which modern teenagers are sent back to a 1950s-style school, has brought memories of her own schooldays flooding back for one York woman. Barbara Pettitt, now a 66-year-old grandmother-of-five who lives

  • Postcards on the way... out!

    WSH u wre hre... so might run a typical text message from a holidaymaker to the folks back home. A few days ago we revealed how the popularity of mobile phones and email is having a serious effect on that more traditional communications device: the postcard

  • JB: a Croft original

    HE was known as "York's greatest benefactor". Walk around the city and you are never far from the influence of John Bowes Morrell. Every time a university student visits the JB Morrell Library, a shopper walks past the 14th century Bowes Morrell House

  • Tracking the TV licence frauds

    THE future of the television licence is under scrutiny. During heated exchanges in a Commons committee, some MPs told the BBC's York-educated director general Greg Dyke that the fee was a "poll tax" which had no place in the modern, multi-channel world

  • Return to glory days of park life

    LITTLE Mary Birkby must have been getting under her mother's feet, because she told her son George to take the five-year-old girl to Rowntree Park. George, nine years older than his little sister, duly obliged. But this was no ordinary day at the park

  • Slice of rail life

    RAIL fares are due to rise above inflation, train punctuality times leave much to be desired and the Royal Mail is cancelling its rail contract. The whole network can sometimes seem to be running out of steam. We might have the answer. Today's rail chiefs

  • War memories of 'Happy Haxby'

    TODAY we take a tour of Haxby, but the journey begins, strangely enough, in Middlesbrough. It was here that John Wright lived - until war broke out. He was evacuated, first to Levisham and then, in 1940, to Haxby. He was to spend the next four years in

  • The good news day

    IT was the day that Britain needed. After six years of war, and the austerity that followed, the people were ready to rediscover national pride, march into a hopeful new era, and have a right old knees-up. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 50 years

  • Way we were

    Monday, May 10, 2004 100 years ago: Seaside holidaymakers for Whitsuntide were warned by the Incorporated Society of Medical Officers of Health of the danger of eating contaminated shellfish. The warning applied more to the south of the country than the

  • Big year for the top brass

    OUR story begins, as so many York stories do, at the Rowntree works. "It has been suggested," started an advert in the Cocoa Works Magazine, "that the formation of a brass band in the confines of the works would be welcomed by the many music enthusiasts

  • In the dark on park

    STILL with all things Rowntree, we need your help. Next Sunday, May 25, from 2pm-4pm, the Friends of Rowntree Park are holding a Memorabilia Afternoon. Friends' archivist Syd Heppell has collected photographs and other items and is looking for help in

  • Derring-do of The Dambusters

    SIXTY years ago this Friday, the dambusters set off on their historic mission. Nineteen Lancasters of 617 Squadron left RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, to carry out one of the most challenging and daring raids in the history of warfare. Their targets were

  • Book digs up bloodiest battle

    The Battle of Marston Moor has been well documented but a new book digs deeper, partly by going under the very soil of the battlefield, reports Zoe Walker THE Battle of Marston Moor was one of the bloodiest ever fought on British soil. On July 2 1644,

  • Standing with Custer

    ON June 25 1876, General George Armstrong Custer led 200 men of his US 7th Cavalry to their deaths in the Montana wilderness at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. They were cut to pieces by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in a battle that has assumed legendary

  • Steam team on the road

    THE golden age of steam began in 1896 and lasted 30 years. Not on the railways, of course - that golden age lasted a little longer - but on the roads. For a brief period steam power rivalled the petrol engine as the motorised marvel of the day. These

  • Dr Beeching: villain or visionary?

    WE all know what Dr Richard Beeching did to our railways. He butchered them. He took an axe to Britain's cherished rural rail network, leaving abandoned stations and the villages they served to rot. Except that he didn't. For a start that infamous Beeching

  • Shipwrecks give up their deep secrets

    THE sea deserves a lot of respect, says Ron Young, "because it doesn't respect you". He should know. For 35 years he was a diver, and spent much of his time underwater exploring the wrecks of ships swallowed up by the vast ocean. After completing his

  • Portrait of mystery

    History buff JOAN PALEY works in one of York's most historic houses. In this, the last of our writing competition winning entries to be published, she explains her affinity for one particular exhibit FRANK Green lived in Treasurer's House for 33 years

  • Teardrop treasures

    CITY leaders believe the liberation of York Central, the teardrop-shaped land hemmed in by railway lines, is one of the most exciting development opportunities anywhere in Europe. The scale is awesome. At 85 acres, the site is roughly two-thirds the size

  • Giving it the works

    This year, the Evening Press held a writing competition. Entrants had to pen a factual article on York. In the first of the three winning entries to be published, ROB OLDFIELD recalls the carriageworks HOWEVER well you think you know York there's always

  • Stage at the heart of York

    DAME Berwick Kaler will meet the class of 2002 babbies and bairns for the first time on Wednesday. And when he takes to the stage for his 24th pantomime, he will know his legendary performances are part of the history of one of Britain's greatest theatres

  • My dad was a bobby ...and a firefighter

    THEIR walk-out has reminded us that modern firefighters do a complex job. Firemen and women not only fight fires, they free road accident victims, perform river rescues, pump water from flooded homes and check properties are safe. For their predecessors

  • When York was fab

    IF you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of the Beatles - so said the American composer Aaron Copland. By performing their own songs, with increasing inventiveness, the four pioneers from Liverpool blazed a trail that is still being followed

  • Wicca's world

    ON Thursday night, we will all answer the door to find assorted little devils, imps and ghosts thrusting forward a bag half filled with processed sugar to the cry of "Trick or treat". This Americanisation of Hallowe'en makes those of a nostalgic bent

  • Haul in the past

    A SENSE of near-panic set Peter Frank about the task of chronicling the Yorkshire fishing community. Born in Whitby in 1934, he went on to become a professor at Essex University. In the Seventies he returned to his home town, and realised how much it

  • York's car wars

    BECAUSE Roman, Viking and medieval street planners did not have the foresight to anticipate the motor car, York has never been a driver's paradise. The narrow streets have struggled to accommodate traffic ever since the end of the last war. So the city

  • Major infamy

    MAJOR John Hatfield, it was obvious, was a gentleman through and through. He arrived in Scarb-orough in 1792, a tall, well-spoken, well-bred man who apparently had the Duke of Rutland's backing to stand for one of the borough's two Parliamentary seats

  • Trinity marches on

    LIKE those people who find they are just as busy in retirement, Holy Trinity Church is full of life long after being declared redundant. The venerable and ancient Goodramgate building hasn't been turned into a club or caf as have some churches. It even

  • Back beats

    ANY of these boys strike a chord? They were doing just that in York's pubs and clubs back in the city's swinging Sixties. Some of the city's guitar heroes only knew the one chord when they started off, but regular gigs on the circuit soon polished their

  • Painting pictures

    NO other mass medium comes close to generating the magical memories of the movies. The telly, the wireless, even the theatre do not evoke the same sense of a communal occasion. Back when people went two or three times a week, every trip to those grand

  • Barbican giveaway

    IT warms my heart to read that the Barbican development is being proposed solely for the benefit of the people of York and not at all to make money! ("'Barbican will be better' pledge", April 28) Why is Andrew Cossins pictured in front of the Barbican

  • Guide to yesteryear

    THOUSANDS of people flocked to Scarborough over the weekend to make the most of glorious sunny weather. Many of them will have bought a glossy guidebook detailing the history, attractions, hotels and nightlife on offer at the resort. But this week, a

  • Rules of duty

    JANET Kitchen seemingly misunderstands the role of our city council officers (Letters, May 6): to give elected councillors impartial advice on the law and Government guidance, and then to implement the councillors' decisions. So far as transport is concerned

  • Let there be flight

    WHEN Brian Mennell first started flying from Rufforth Airfield he asked about its history, only to be told that "nothing happened" there. This did not satisfy the tenacious retired policeman, so he kept asking. The result is his 112-page book packed with

  • Off the wall

    I RECENTLY overheard the following comment from an elderly man to his companions as he turned the corner from Bootham Row car park into Bootham: "Oh, is that the wall they go on about?". He sounded quite disappointed. I wonder what he expected. Mrs Janet

  • Harvesting history

    JUST far enough from the A1079 not to know it's there, Newton-upon-Derwent is a quiet place possessing what estate agents would describe as bags of character. It is not chocolate box pretty, but mature trees and ancient brick cottages give it a timeless

  • Stories spoken down the years

    THERE is something marvellous about the way oral history can span the generations, bringing the voices of people long dead back to life. Roland Chilvers gives a beautiful example in the introduction to his new book, A Collection Of Pictures And Memories

  • That's how we did it

    THEY don't make 'em like they used to. And this well-worn lament is never more true than when it applies to country crafts. The former army of skilled men and women bodging, weaving and whittling has dwindled to a handful keeping the traditions alive.

  • The terrible voyage

    SOME dates are shorthand for infamy. April 15, 1912, is one: the night when the Titanic sank. It was last century's September 11. Like September 11, disaster came from nowhere; it involved huge loss of life - more than 1,500 people died; and it was a

  • In the flow

    TRAFFIC on the River Ouse consists almost entirely of pleasure craft these days. From the yachtsmen and women who cruise from Naburn Marina into town to the tourists taking a trip on the White Rose Line, we all adore the river life of leisure. But this

  • Flawed king of railways

    GEORGE Hudson was a Victorian fat cat who swindled people out of their cash and heaped shame on the good name of York. George Hudson was the far-sighted entrepreneur who single-handedly transformed York into a thriving, modern city. Two views of the Railway

  • Dawn of a new age

    THE world was a very different place when the Queen acceded to the throne. Georgian Britain became Elizabethan Britain 50 years ago this week, and although it was the dawning of a new age, it was too soon for the nation to come to terms with the fact.

  • York's touch of glass

    THESE views of York date from a different era of photography. Forget digital cameras, and even rolls of film. The York scenes above were captured on glass negatives. They were very kindly given to the Evening Press by Lilian Vear, who lives off Rawcliffe

  • A Grand century

    LAUREL and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Gracie Fields and Marty Feldman have much in common. They are among the most popular entertainers Britain (and America, in Oliver Hardy's case) ever produced; they were equally at home on film or in front of a live audience

  • Past captured on picture postcards

    SIX years ago, Ronald Caisley was looking for a hobby. He decided to have a go at collecting postcards. What began as a pastime quickly turned into a passion. "I started collecting postcards from around the country," he explained. "Then I thought I would

  • Brownie points from the past

    THE past will never be forgotten - thanks to our readers. Again our series of Yesterday Once More articles has prompted a fantastic postbag of memories, and it is time to dip into it again. Back on September 10 - how eerie that date now seems - we published

  • Ancient learning

    LAST month, to mark its 400th anniversary, the Charity Commission revealed details of some the country's oldest charities. Among them was St Peter's School in York, an institution that can look back over a remarkable 1,300 year history. Although the exact

  • Into the woods

    New Marske caught my eye while map-gazing, it's a most regular square shape of half a square mile of modern housing, near the sea, near Redcar. Looking down on to New Marske from the big car park in Errington Wood, we gazed over to the west to the ICI

  • All mapped out

    George Wilkinson gets excited about the publication of a new map. A NEW Ordnance Survey map is a shot in the arm, the nearest to nandrolone a walker is likely to get. These days the big boosts are the new green dots that now mark up green lanes, or rather

  • Day of pure pleasure

    George Wilkinson enjoys a winter walk out from Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon. Fifty noisy geese flew over Kirkby Malzeard, the sun glowed on St Andrew's clock and we wandered past the Queen's Head and strode down the Ripon road. There was an irritating

  • Flatlands drifters

    GEORGE WILKINSON takes a peaceful ramble around Riccall. RICCALL is happily by-passed by the A19, not penetrated. The tasteful and triangular green is set bang in the middle of the large village. It made for a peaceful place to start. St Mary's is handy

  • Clear the cobwebs

    GEORGE WILKINSON road tests a rural roam just right for Boxing Day. Hovingham is just right for a festive frolic or for a rural recovery from over-indulgence. That said we immediately popped into the Spa Tearoom and loaded our sacks with sticky delights

  • Head for the hills

    There is an area of land bordered on the west by the A19 and to the east the escarpment of the Hambleton Hills that makes for nice walking. This space is a maze of back roads, a pattern of small hills, fine houses and pretty little villages. Kepwick is

  • Weather or not

    George Wilkinson braves the rain as he strides out through a blustery Summerbridge. SUMMERBRIDGE was not summery. The rain arrived two hours before predicted, but you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, and it was slashing

  • Skirting the castle

    George Wilkinson encounters resting racehorses and a gaunt castle at Sheriff Hutton. THE castle at Sheriff Hutton can look romantic in moonshine, but on a grey day it loomed gaunt and unsteady, tall towers of dilapidated stone, magnets for clouds of black

  • Seaside stroll

    George Wilkinson heads to the coast for a bracing walk at Saltburn. I DO like to be beside the seaside, especially in winter. At Saltburn it was just the two of us on the sands. Well almost, a local walked a dog and a yellow sailed sand yacht zipped around

  • Rock on...

    GEORGE WILKINSON samples the delights of Brimham Rocks. Brimham Rocks have been a popular source of amazement since the railways came to Nidderdale in Victorian times. We arrived, chatted to Steve Pilkington, the National Trust's car park attendant, and

  • Splashing out

    GEORGE WILKINSON falls for a surprisingly gentle five-mile walk setting out from Aysgarth. NEAR Aysgarth we found cheap parking and a nice day, and walked some pastures to said village, by walls splashed with lichens and the Wensleydale fells splashed

  • Wolds wonder

    GEORGE WILKINSON enjoys some fine views on a walk in the Wolds. Leavening is a village in a small valley on the north-west bulge of the Wolds. I parked up at the picnic spot, car park on its outskirts, and walked back in, did most of the tarred part of

  • Stopping by

    Victoria Ellis steps in to help out with a civilised walk in the Howardian Hills. GEORGE Wilkinson has tweaked some small part of his left foot, and for a week or two will be walking no further than the freezer for his therapeutic frozen peas. So, like

  • Going flat out

    GEORGE WILKINSON is happy and untroubled on the flatlands close to Beverley, apart from an encounter with a trouser-tearing gate. BEVERLEY and its environs have been due an exploration, so we travelled on a hot Saturday to Tickton, a satellite of the

  • River crossing

    George Wilkinson visits Barmby on the Marsh, where the Ouse and Derwent meet. Barmby on the Marsh is a small village tucked in wedge of land where the rivers Ouse and Derwent meet and continue as the Ouse and then the Humber. There are no road bridges

  • Sew hard for 'Trees

    Sewerby's bowlers were in devastating form at Mille Crux where they whistled out Rowntrees for just 37 to record their third win and retain the second division leadership. Batting first in a game which had been threatened by an extremely wet outfield,

  • Bank on it

    George Wilkinson follows an appealing route to Sutton Bank. ON the buses again for a linear walk from Newgate Bank to Sutton Bank, an appealing route. We left Helmsley on a typically animated Friday market day, and the Moorsbus took us up to the viewpoint

  • Beck and call

    GEORGE WILKINSON sets out on a long and linear walk on the southern edge of the North York Moors. Ebberston is a very long and linear village. We parked at its southern end, a sheepdog stood cooling its paws in the beck and we popped along Mill Lane to

  • Still' crew becalmed

    Stillington's long-serving Dennis North carried his bat for an unbeaten 88 as his side totalled 151 at St Helen's Road. Chris Manson added 28 while Dave Storr took 4-48 and Richard Cole 3-38 for Dringhouses. When the home side batted Andy Page 27 was

  • Mining country

    GEORGE WILKINSON comes across landmarks from the lead-mining industry of the North Yorkshire Dales. WE took the tank road up to Reeth, the tanks were elsewhere. Reeth baked and basked in the sunshine. We plodded off over the meadows to Grinton where the

  • Fell it like it is

    George Wilkinson climbs up among the wildlife deep in upper Wensleydale at Burtersett. BURTERSETT is a dozen or so old houses, all made of stone with heavy roofs and narrow, mullioned windows. It is found deep in upper Wensleydale, at a thousand feet

  • On top of the Wolds

    GEORGE WILKINSON thoroughly enjoys himself at Kirby Underdale. We didn't hang around on the Wayrham picnic plot, we had miles of Wolds valleys to travel, a real treat of sculptured countryside. Wayrham Dale first, a bit of woodland and then a surprise

  • Walking fever

    George Wilkinson opts for an effortless Teesdale amble rather than a longish woodland wander after succumbing to a fever... We pulled in through the gilded gates, parked under a monkey puzzle tree and looked out, through the rain, at the French confection

  • Pub crawl

    George Wilkinson goes for a Burton... I was gazing at the Ordnance Survey map for the Ripon area and today's route just leapt off the page. It showed a village at all three corners, and a blue beer glass symbol adorning each. It offered a tipple at each

  • The blue path

    We set off to the scent of new mown grass, past Temperance House and the Crown and Cushion and left the village of Welburn down Water Lane for a super true blue walk. Others were strolling over Primrose Hill and a couple from Norfolk were here for the

  • Memory Lane

    George Wilkinson follows in the footsteps of Clare Francis to one of her favourite spots. Clare Francis MBE, the sailor, was the inspiration for today's navigation in the south-west Dales. Recently she wrote about Crummack Lane, her favourite. It comes

  • Down Whitby way

    George Wilkinson discovers Hinderwell, tucked away from Whitby. HINDERWELL huddled against the spitting rain and chilly wind. The coastal village lies Whitby way, but sits half a mile back from the waves, doesn't have its neighbour's pretty bays, but

  • On the up

    George Wilkinson takes a trip to Thoralby ... Thoralby was quietly welcoming, the daytime car park with an honesty box, the George Inn over the road for aprs-walk. The scene was set. Bishopdale angles away to the south-west. A mile away, out of view,

  • Made of Sterne stuff

    George Wilkinson is of 'sound head' as he engages with the ghost of Lawrence Sterne at Coxwold LAWRENCE Sterne, the author of Tristram Shandy and sometimes labelled "the father of the English novel", lived from 1760 to 1768 at Shandy Hall in the lovely

  • On a high

    GEORGE WILKINSON takes in some fabulous views on a visit to the Cleveland Hills We climbed the 400ft from frost to sun, from the lowlands to the heather, from Bank Foot to the crags above the tree line and to Battersby Moor. The only clouds in the sky