JONATHAN PETERS is in a tiny minority when he says he likes Stonebow House (Letters, December 4).

Certain periods in architecture should be forgotten and consigned to history and one of these is 1960s brutalism.

This building has to be York’s ugliest and is an eyesore for tourists coming out of Shambles.

The best thing to do would be to demolish Stonebow House and build a much-needed bus station in its place.

This would certainly make waiting for a bus more attractive – certainly better than the dirty cramped shelters we have at present. Who knows, it might even tempt more tourists on to buses to visit attractions outside of York.

Ian Foster, Hawthorne Avenue, Haxby, York.
 

• JONATHAN PETERS is a brave man to defend Hilary House. He is right that modern buildings do have their place in our urban landscape; it is just that many of them have been put in the wrong place.

Hilary House is one of the worst examples because its sheer size is out of scale for its location and its juxtaposition is dreadful. It towers above all earlier buildings and entirely ruins the view down historic St Saviourgate.

A building of this size should never have been put there in the first place. Adding another floor is not a good idea.

Matthew Laverack, Architect of this parish, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York.


• THREE cheers for Jonathan Peters (Letters, December 4) in decrying unreasonable hatred of 1960s buildings in York.

I too admire Hilary House and Stonebow House, and would gladly join a preservation society, should either of them be threatened with demolition.

Mark Gladwin, Huntington Road, York.