Tuesday, October 5, 2004

100 years ago: A large number of friends of a York couple assembled at the Phoenix Inn, George Street, for the purpose of presenting them with a couch, which had been subscribed for by residents in the district on the occasion of their recent marriage. The presentation was accompanied by "a few well-chosen remarks" testifying to the great respect in they were held by all present. The couple thanked the company for the kind feeling which had prompted the gift, after which the remainder of the evening was devoted to harmony. At a prior gathering, the couple had also been the recipients of an overmantle.

50 years ago: Debate was raging in London as to whether the Roman Temple of Mithras, recently discovered in the city centre, could be economically preserved. The organiser of the London Questers thought it was possible, if a York example was followed. "It may interest you to know," he told Mr Nobody, "that I have written to a London newspaper and pointed out that when a similar discovery was made in St Sampson's Square, York, the brewery company concerned and the Corporation managed to come to terms and preserve the remains. Such undertakings as that in St Sampson's Square, the wonderful Castle Museum and the Shambles scheme make York an example for the rest of the country." He was referring to the discovery in 1930-31 of the extensive remains of a Roman bath when the Mail Coach Inn, St Sampson's Square, was under reconstruction. A number of tiles, bearing the mark of the Sixth and Ninth Legions, were also discovered, and when the first discoveries were made, the Reverend Angelo Raine was consulted as to what should be done. He gave instructions to the alteration of the plans and the enlargement of the cellar space so that as much of the structure as possible should be excavated and preserved.

25 years ago: Yorkshire MPs were worried that anti-tourist "lobbies" could damage the region's £200 million a year tourist industry. Thirteen MPs and three members of the House of Lords were at a meeting with the Yorkshire and Humberside Tourist Board where they were told that York and Haworth were the two places worst affected by residents wearing T-shirts and badges with such slogans as: "I'm not a tourist - I live here."

Updated: 08:31 Tuesday, October 05, 2004