Tuesday, October 19, 2004

100 years ago: A Yorkshire Philosophical Society lecture on St Martin's Church, York, drew attention to the monument which formerly occupied a position in an arched recess near one of the columns in the nave of St Martin's Church. The recumbent figure of an armed warrior, with a shield bearing the arms of the family of Ros, who lived at Ros Hall, now Water Fulford, had been placed in an upright position on the Hob Moor part of Micklegate Stray. Some years previously the society made unsuccessful efforts to have this memorial removed to their museum for preservation. Since that time it had been sadly treated. The speaker hoped that the society would renew its efforts to secure this interesting monument.

50 years ago: In the ripening room of a fruit warehouse in Walmgate, York, amongst 66 stems of bananas from Brazil, there was an elusive snake, species unknown. A salesman opened the ripening room door and there it was, a few inches from his face, flicking out its tongue to catch flies, but it then vanished into the stems. At midday it emerged from hiding in and settled contentedly on the top of a stem, in full view, but at the far end of the ripening room. Several stems were removed, but once again it disappeared into one of the friendly clumps, there still being 50 left in the room. Later in the day, the warehouse owner removed the stems to another room, examining each one in turn. They eventually found the snake, which was 5ft long, and after a quick debate decided to kill it, a task carried out by the Evening Press photographer who was there. The snake, still unidentified, was then put on display in a gunsmiths shop in York.

25 years ago: York councillors were debating issuing an ultimatum to the owner of a York house which had stood empty for eight years, to either repair the property or face a compulsory purchase order. The property, in St Paul's Square, was a Grade II Listed Building, and to bring it "up to standard" would cost £30,000, when similar properties in the area were selling for only £13,000. Councillors decided first to issue a repairs notice, and if this was ignored then steps would be taken to compulsorily purchase the building.

Updated: 09:25 Tuesday, October 19, 2004