100 years ago

The excellent arrangements made by the committee and secretary of the YMCA Club at the Exhibition Buildings, York, for the comfort and convenience of the soldiers in York, were being much appreciated, the attendances being about 1000 a day.

The accommodation for writing letters was one of the most popular features, hundreds being written every evening, and the requirements in this department had increased to such an extent during the previous week that further accommodation had had to be provided in the north gallery of the large hall.

The refreshment department and the games provided, especially the billiard tables, were very popular, and every evening from six o'clock an animated scene could be observed in the large and comfortably furnished lounge.

Especially was this the case on Saturdays and Sundays, when the soldiers were allowed the privilege of bringing in their mothers, wives, sisters, and friends. The concerts provided on two or three evenings a week were also popular and well attended.


50 years ago

A new nine-storey hotel to be built in North Street, York, for Spiers and Ponds Ltd, had been approved by York Development and Planning Committee, subject to recommendations of the Architects' Panel regarding details of materials.

The hotel, which would cost in the region of £75,000, would take about two years to complete.


25 years ago

A five-tonne mobile crane had to be winched inch-by-inch to safety after part of a road collapsed only feet from where a lorry had fallen into a huge chasm in King's Square, York.

The recent incident occurred less than three months after a city council refuse lorry fell into the hole which appeared when water from a burst mains swept away material beneath the road.

The crane was being used by workmen near the first huge crater when it started sinking. It had been standing in the same place for several weeks and firefighters believed heavy rain could have triggered the recent subsidence.

A crew struggled for an hour to lift the crane from the muddy hole by jacking it up and supporting it on wooden blocks. Then they dragged it onto a hard surface away from the course of the sewer that was the root of the problems.

Assistant Divisional Officer Brian Kirk, based at York, said it appeared that a cavity around the pipe had caved in.

“All that heavy rain earlier in the day has weakened the ground, it seems, and the crane started to sink in,” he said.

“It was leaking water that created the problem in the first place and this looks like a similar situation.”