100 years ago

A run of depositors on the Selby branch of the Yorkshire Penny Bank had been caused by a malicious rumour that had got into circulation.

The panic was most noticeable about midday, when during the dinner-hour nearly 100 children holding their bank books were at the bank door, and a constable, who was on duty near, was called to keep order.

A number of adults also put in an appearance. Some of the latter, however, on finding that they were the victims of a canard, went away without drawing their savings.

All those, however, who presented their books and requested payment, were duly paid in turn. The management of the bank sent twice to Leeds for bags of money.

In some cases the alarmed depositors became reassured on perusing the balance sheet and its big totals for the previous year, which was being distributed in the ordinary course.


50 years ago

More than 20 segments in the priceless stained-glass windows of York Minster had been broken by vandals.

The world-famous Five Sisters window was among the windows which had been the target for what were believed to be stones from a catapult.

The damaged windows were all on the north side of the Minster. This gave rise to the theory that the missiles – York police had not ruled out the possibility that they could be slugs from an airgun – were all fired from the area of Dean’s Park.

Windows ranging along the north aisle of the nave, the Five Sisters and windows in the Chapter House and Chapter House Vestibule had holes in them measuring up to three inches across. The damage was inestimable.

“You cannot buy 13th and 14th century glass of that kind,” said Mr W Jesse Green, clerk of works of the Minster.


25 years ago

British Telecom had laid on a special telephone line to a dining table set up in the middle of the road in Deangate, York.

The temporary phone had been installed for only one call – to the Oxfordshire home of Lord Esher, the man whose special report had formed a blueprint for the conservation of York.

Dr John Shannon, chairman of York Civic Trust and the Dean of York, the Very Rev John Southgate, had invited Lord Esher to join them for a meal in the middle of Deangate at noon, preceded by the Minster School choristers singing grace, on the day the street closed to traffic for an experimental period of a year.

Because Lord Esher was unable to attend in person, the two men who had led the campaign to ban traffic from Deangate would speak to him by telephone as they tucked into a celebration champagne lunch.