ANYONE who saw last Wednesday's poster-sized photo on the centre pages of The Press will recognise the first photograph today as dating from about the same period.

The photo shows Melias tea stores (no, there is no apostrophe in Melias, at least not on the shop front) on Pavement. The shop boasts of being the 'largest retailers in the kingdom', with 'branches on all the lading towns'. That may well have been the case - but it didn't save this lovely building. The photograph was taken in the 1890s, and less than 20 years later, this building had gone, demolished so as to create the new entrance for Piccadilly, which was knocked through in 2012.

This photo, like all the others on these pages today, comes from Explore York's wonderful Imagine York website.

Among the others we reproduce today, there are several showing the magnificent horse repository which once stood on Tanner Moat, and was later reduced in size by having its upper floors removed. Two photos, meanwhile, show scenes in Layerthorpe in the 1950s.

Here are a few more details on each:

1. A young boy, carrying a sheaf of what looks like newspapers under his arm (perhaps he was a Victorian paper boy?) walks in front of Melias Store on Pavement in the 1890s. Melias was one of the buildings demolished to create the new entrance to Piccadilly in 1912. The sign in the window indicates that sparkling sugar crystals are 2 pence. The building on the right is Braime's brewery

2. The view from Lendal Bridge towards Tanner Moat and Rougier Street in about 1955, showing the tall shape of the Botterills horse repository

3. The junction of Tanner Moat, Rougier Street and Museum Street in about 1955, showing Botterills horse repository

4. Tanner Street in about 1933. The building on the far left hand side at the rear of the photograph is the NER Offices, with the Station Hotel in the far distance next to it. The old horse repository, which looks out onto Lendal Bridge, and which later became Leedhams (having had its top storey removed) dominates the middle distance. By the time this photograph was taken it was already a car showroom

5. A police officer directs traffic at the junction of Tanner Moat, Lendal Bridge and Railway Street, probably in the 1920s. J.B. Beal's motor engineering works occupied the far premises on Tanner Moat. The Lendal Bridge Hotel is next to the grandiose building occupied by the Horse Repository

6. Cars parked in front of nos. 2 - 10 Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, in the 1950s

7. Women standing in front of Layerthorpe Co-operative Society in the 1950s

Stephen Lewis

BLOB All the photos on these pages, and thousands more, are held on Explore York’s wonderful Imagine York archive. You can browse it yourself for free just by visiting imagineyork.co.uk/