100 years ago

“An Old Citizen”, recalled the days when on Shrove Tuesday all apprentices were let off at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, at the ringing of the Pancake Bell, which hung in the gable end of the Merchants' Hall, Fossgate, facing the Foss.

After a dinner of delicious pancakes, sports were indulged in on the strays, and in any open space.

The Hollow as it was called, the site of the old Baile Castle, on Bishophill, was the rendezvous of many of the elder 'prentice groups.

They spent the afternoon playing football and other games. Before knocking off work each apprentice was given his pancake shilling, which he invariably spent in sweet meats and apples.

The boys were also prone to many other confections, and York gingerbread was a popular delicacy in the form of gingerbread horses, birds, and other objects.

Upon the Bar Walls surrounding the Hollow the Masters of the city congregated, and to enhance the fun and cause excitement they threw oranges down among the surging 'prentices, who scrambled here and there, head over heels, in their eager desire to obtain the luscious missiles.


50 years ago

Mr Michael Peacock, Chief of Programmes for BBC2, said he believed the programmes on the new channel would be of "very fine quality, and very exciting."

He was giving a progress report on BBC2, which was due to start on April 20. Giving details of some of the programmes, Mr Peacock said that to celebrate the opening of BBC2 the channel was promoting two "pop" concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. BBC2 would transmit for about 30 to 32 hours a week.

"I'm hoping for an audience of between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 at the opening, and 2,000,000 within six months. At the moment it is very doubtful whether all the sets can be converted in time for the opening," said Mr Peacock. Programmes from Monday to Friday would start at 7.20pm and end around 11pm.


25 years ago

So William "Billy the Kid" Hague had duly achieved a cherished ambition.

On "the happiest day of my life" the so-called boy wonder had become the youngest Conservative MP in the House of Commons.

While he had not been able to compete with the daunting record of William Pitt the Younger, who had reached the dizzy heights of Prime Minister at the tender age of 24, 27-year-old Hague had moved most swiftly through the massed ranks of the Tory party.

His victory in the Richmond by-election, while it could hardly be construed as a ringing endorsement of the government's policies, could well prove to be most significant as the Conservative party prepared to confront the 21st century.