100 years ago

MR J G Butcher, KC MP, York, intended to call attention on the Home Office Vote to the inadequate inspection of pit ponies.

Six special horse inspectors had been appointed under the Mines Act, 1911, but the information collected by the National Equine Defence League, with the assistance of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, suggested that more inspectors were required to make the inspection completely effective.

The six inspectors had currently to look after 3265 mines, which employed a total of 71,526 animals. The distribution of the work was very unequal. For instance, the inspector for the Newcastle and Durham mines had the inspection of 26,294 animals, working in 494 mines, whereas the inspector for the Manchester, Irish, Liverpool, and North Wales mines had 444 mines in his area which employed only 1881 animals.

50 years ago

THE Queen had approved a new coinage effigy.

An announcement from Buckingham Palace said: “In view of impending changes in the coinage of certain Commonwealth countries that use the Royal effigy, Her Majesty has signified that this new effigy may be used now or at any time by the Governments of Commonwealth countries who wish to show Her Majesty’s portrait on their coins.

"The effigy is the work of Mr Arnold Machin RA. It is a head-and-shoulders portrait, leaving space for an inscription at the sides, instead of in a complete circle.”

A Court correspondent wrote: The Queen gave Mr Machin sittings both at Balmoral last summer and at Buckingham Palace. Mr Machin, 52, lived in Chelsea and had been a master at the Royal Academy School of Sculpture since 1958. Before that he was a tutor at the Royal College of Art for seven years.

25 years ago

FLASHLIGHT photography was to be banned in York Minster in an attempt to protect the cathedral’s many altar hangings, frontals and other valuable and historic textiles. The ban was being introduced after the Dean and Chapter sought professional advice on long-term conservation of the fabrics.

“It has been widely recognised for some time that excessive quantities of flashlight over a long period are harmful to fabrics and paintings, containing as they do materials which can fade,” said the Minster’s press officer, Mrs Dorothy Lee.

“For this reason, flash photography is no longer permitted in many museums and art galleries, both in this country and abroad.”

After seeking professional advice, the recommendation had firmly been that flash photography must be banned in the Minster, in order to protect its precious items from intense light, she said.