PONDS have long been a part of life in Dringhouses. Once there were four of them, created as a by-product of the brick-making industry. Kelsey's Pond was filled in, apparently some time in the mid 1940s, leaving Chapman's Pond, Hogg's Pond (named after a Mr Hogg) and the Railway or Mayfield Pond.

These last three, despite being threatened at various times in their history, have all survived, and have been popular with anglers and walkers.

We have some great photos from down the years in our archives, mainly of Chapman's Pond and Hogg's Pond.

Our favourite is a photo (below) dated August 1971, showing two boys fishing at Chapman's Pond. There's the absorbed expression on the face of the boy with the fishing rod, and the bicycle at the side of the frame. It all speaks of a long, long summer's day when school was out and the holidays stretched ahead endlessly...

York Press:

August 1971: fishing at Chapman's Pond

There's also a more recent photo (top), from 1989, showing a young man in waders helping to clear litter and undergrowth from Chapman's pond, and a more tranquil photograph (below) from February 1968 showing bare trees perfectly silhouetted in the pond's still water.

York Press:

Tranquil: trees reflected in the still waters of Chapman's Pond in February 1968

Our photo of Hogg's pond (top, second photo), meanwhile, dates from 1985, when it was under threat. "The site was popular with anglers, sailors, windsurfers and birdwatchers but it had been put up for sale and there were fears it would be lost," says the caption.

We don't, sadly, have any photos of Kelsey's Pond, which was filled in so long ago. So if there are any readers out there who do have photographs, we'd love to hear from you.

Staying with the environmental theme for a moment, in April 1972 there was a huge row in Dringhouses over the pruning, by the city council, of poplar trees on St Helen's Road. Our photo shows one tree that had been pruned, plus a row of trees yet to be done.

York Press:

April 1972: poplar trees being pruned in St Helen's Road

The trees were said, by the council, to be a hazard to buses, but locals believed the pruning had gone too far. The caption tells the story. "One resident said: 'The trees are being brutally massacred. They call it pruning but it is a disaster. They look like second-hand totem poles.' The council said they were just easing the situation and the trees would re-grow." H'mm.

A couple of photos related to the bridge over St Helen's Road next. One was taken in 1957, and shows a boxy 1950s van driving over the bridge. "A contract for the supply of steelwork for the reconstruction of the bridge over the railway in St Helen's Road had just been placed by British Railways North Eastern Division with the Butterlee Co Ltd, of Butterlee, near Derby," reads the caption.

York Press:

1957: the bridge over the railway in St Helen's Road

Three years later, in February 1960, one of The Press's photographers photographed flooded gardens in Eason Road - as seen from the same bridge.

York Press:

February 1960: Flooded gardens in Eason Road, seen from the railway bridge

And finally, we have a photograph from September 1968 showing the 'new' zebra crossing outside St Edward the Confessor Church. We reckon some of the children in the photo would be in their Fifties, by now. Recognise yourselves, anyone?

York Press:

September 1968; the 'new' zebra crossing outside St Edward the Confessor church in Dringhouses

 

Next week: Clifton