IN June 1911 a tethered hot air balloon carrying a pilot and nine passengers broke free from its moorings in the grounds of Bootham Park Hospital, where the Grand Yorkshire Gala was being held, and sailed off into the wide blue yonder.

Pursued on a bicycle by the intrepid Major TN Lindberg, it rose several hundred feet into the air and floated for about 11 miles before eventually coming to rest in a tree near Elvington. Fortunately, apart from a few scratches and bruises, no one was hurt. Major Lindberg was able to telephone the good news back to worried people at the Gala.

The escapade made for a racy story in the Ripon and Richmond Chronicle headlined ‘’Passengers’ Terrifying Adventure’. Even better, local photographer Thomas Hanstock was on hand to record it for posterity.

Hanstock was a commercial photographer who was active in York for many years in the early 1900s. He photographed everything, from dramatic incidents such as the 1911 balloon breakaway to the businesses and ordinary people of York.

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Workers at Gibbs Motor Manufacturers, which produced steam cars and steam delivery vans at Thomas Street, off James Street. 

Thousands of the Hanstock photos are now in the keeping of the Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological Society (YAYAS). Many have never been seen before in public - until now.

A new book by Paul Chrystal and Ian Drake of YAYAS - Life in York one hundred years ago - brings together hundreds of the photographs in print for the first time.

They provide wonderful glimpses of how people lived, worked and played in York a century or so ago. And they’re not just the usual street scenes, as is so often the case with old photos. As the blurb to the book says, ‘All of life is here: children, soldiers, blacksmiths, revellers, shopkeepers, families, as well as many others’.

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Knocking off time for Rowntree workers

The book is laid out in chapters that cover everything from events (such as the Grand Yorkshire Gala) to people, schools, hospitals, ships, and industry. Here, we reproduce just a few.

  • Life in York one hundred years ago by by Paul Chrystal and Ian Drake is published by Palatine Books, priced £12.

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