Tuesday, February 8, 2005

100 years ago: The Streets and Buildings Committee of the York City Council "reluctantly" gave their consent to the completion of the conveyance of the surplus land in College Street to Mr Frank Green. They stated that at the time of the sale of the land they were under the impression that the Dean and Chapter of York were purchasing it for the purpose of retaining it as an open space, and expressed their regret that the land had now become the property of a private owner who intended to erect buildings on it. They had come to the determination to strictly enforce their powers with regard to the elevation of any such buildings.

50 years ago: Butter used to be one of the chief products if this area, and so, Mr Nobody gathered from an Act of Parliament passed in 1722, the citizens of York were proud of its quality. The butter brought to the free market in Micklegate gained a "great reputation" both at home and abroad. However, it continued: "But of late years, several farmers of dairies, owners and other traders in butter, the better to conceal the false weighing and packing of their butter, to be by them disposed of, have neglected to bring the same to the said market to be searched and weighed, by mean whereof not only the traders in the said community at home, but foreigners also, have been greatly deceived in the weight, goodness and soundness thereof." In order to prevent this, the Corporation introduced the Act, making it unlawful for anyone to sell butter in York which had not first been "searched, weighed and sealed with the seal of Micklegate market". Also, it asked permission to levy rates and duties from those whose butter had been examined at "a half-penny for every firkin, half-firkin, etc, involved, one half of the forfeitures going to the poor people of the parish in which the offence was committed and the other half to the informer or informers".

25 years ago: Ten boreholes were to be sunk in York's Piccadilly car park in the following two weeks to check the ground's loading-bearing capacity, and give details needed to plan the area's redevelopment. York Archaeological Trust would monitor the boreholes in an attempt to plot the original course of the river Foss, which had been diverted in 1068 to form a moat around Clifford's Tower. The trust was also looking for traces of a Roman or Viking port so that it could plan future excavations.

Updated: 16:12 Monday, February 07, 2005