ACCORDING to Barbara Hutton’s book Clifton And Its People In The 19th Century, the name Clifton comes from the 30 foot high cliff, or ‘scope’, beside Clifton Bridge, where the ferry used to cross the river.
Barbara’s book was published in 1969, but it seems a perfectly reasonable explanation for the name. “It is at this point that the bank of the flood plain of the Ouse approaches the banks of its present course,” she wrote. “There is a similar cliff at Beningbrough, a few miles upstream...”
Whatever the origin of the name, it is Clifton that we focus on here. We have been rummaging around in our archives, and have come up with a series of photographs of Clifton itself and Clifton Moor that span the period 1853 to 1982, and which take in many of the key changes in the area since, such as demolition of the aerodrome, the building of Clifton Bridge, and so on.
Most of the photos were taken by our own photographers, or else were held buried deep in our archive. But one, supplied more recently, comes from Explore York’s wonderful Imagine York archive. So thanks to them...
We start with a remarkable photograph taken by George Fowler Jones in 1853, showing a snowy scene in Clifton. We wonder whether anyone has any information about the cottages shown, or indeed any of the other photographs here...
1. A snowy scene showing cottages at Clifton photographed by George Fowler Jones in February, 1853
2. The Water End to Clifton ferry in the early 1900s. Despite proposals for a permanent bridge, one was not opened until 1963.
3. The fire tender at York Municipal Aerodrome (commonly known as Clifton Aerodrome) in 1936. Photograph from www.imagineyork.co.uk
According to the website Abandoned, Forgotten and Little Known Airfields in Europe, the airfield opened on July 4, 1936 as a civilian airfield, serving the city of York (although three years before it had been briefly used by an air circus). In 1941 a complete RAF Station was built at the southeast side, with accommodation for 500 personnel and three concrete runways for a Halifax heavy bomber repair unit. After the war, the airfield was used for a while to strip down old bombers. It was then taken over again by Yorkshire Aviation Services, but the aeroclub closed in the early 1950s. After a period of disuse, the site was sold by York Corporation for housing development. The airfield is now covered by the Clifton Moor Retail Park and a housing estate.
4. Nissen huts on Clifton Aerodrome in April 1957
5. The gaunt skeleton of a Nissen hut on Clifton aerodrome in April 1957
6. May 1961. The launching of the 300-ton temporary bridge being built by the army at York is slowly pushed out over the river Ouse at Clifton. The bridge, built in sections, is supported on solid steel rollers
7. Riverside fun near Clifton Bridge, York – where the Ouse flowed near the British Sugar factory – in June 1982. Talk about cliffs...
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