Blackburn, Lancashire had thousands of little holes - at least according to a certain Sixties band. But in the early 1980s, York had one very big one all its own - right in the middle of the city, next to historic Clifford’s Tower.
London developer Swallow Property wanted to build a luxury 120-bedroom hotel looking out over the castle. It was to be called The Grand Old Duke of York - a great name for a hotel there. You could just imagine the guests marching up the castle mound and back down again before breakfast.
The Castle Garage, which had been built in the 1930s on the site of the filled-in sunken garden of Castlegate House, was demolished in 1981 in readiness.
But then, unfortunately, Swallow Property ran into difficulties. It pulled out of the hotel development - leaving the centre of York with a huge hole in the ground (top).
By 1984, however, another developer - Regentcellar - had come forward, and plans for the hotel were back on.
Today, the Hilton stands here, looking out over Clifford’s Tower. But the photos on these pages take us back to the days before it made its appearance.
The old Castle Garage from the top of Clifford's Tower
Two show the old Castle Garage before it was demolished. In one (above), it is seen from the top of Clifford’s Tower: in the other (below), taken in the 1950s, it is seen from road level, with a rank of cars parked in front, facing the castle.
Cars outside the Castle Garage in the 1950s
Three more photographs, all from our own archives, show the hole itself. In one, taken from the castle mound, it is hidden behind a neat row of hoardings. ‘Fight Communism’, says a cryptic message scrawled in large letters across the front of the boards.
The hole on Tower Street hidden behind a row of hoardings
The other two photos, however (top and below) are taken from behind the hoardings, and show the huge size of the hole that had been excavated.
The Tower Street hole in 1982, with the mound of Clifford's Tower visible to the left
Finally, we have two older photographs of Clifford Street. One, taken in the early 1930s, shows the huge castle wall that once stood here.
The castle walls loom large in this view of Tower Street taken in the early 1930s
The second dates to the early 1900s, and shows large crowds gathered at the South African (ie Boer) War memorial. “Decorating the Green Howards monument”, someone has written at the bottom of the photo.
Crowds at the South African war memorial in Tower Street in the early 1900s
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