Saturday, February 11, 2006

100 years ago

The Chief Constable presented his report to the York Licensing sessions, which were opened at the Law Courts, Clifford Street. It stated that there were within the jurisdiction, 331 premises licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor, such number being equal to one licensed house for every 235 persons, calculated upon the census of 1901, being 77,914 persons. Of these 192 were fully licensed, 37 were beer-houses for consumption on the premises, 75 beer-houses for consumption off the premises, and 27 licensed for the sale of wines, spirits and sweets. As required by Part III of the Licensing Act, 1902, 29 clubs with a total membership of 5,000 had been registered, in all of which intoxicating liquor was sold. The Bench were of the same opinion as they were two years before - that the number of licensed houses was altogether out of proportion to the number of inhabitants, and it was their intention to mark their opinion by making a certain reduction, by no means of drastic character, but as an indication of the policy they intended to carry out.

50 years ago

A correspondent, signing himself York by Birth, had written to the Press on the continuing and controversial topic of moving the Parliament Street Market. The letter said: "We like our weekend market and we like it where it is by tradition - in Parliament Street. We also like our city to be alive and busy, but the meddlers with their policy of keeping out industry and preserving all that is ancient will, in ten years or less, have it a beautiful corpse. To those traders who support the idea of abolishing our market, I give the warning that even if they do succeed they will not gain trade because we and our cousins in the country will travel to various towns and cities close at hand to spend our wages."

25 years ago

A West Yorkshire MP who would prefer to be a "West Riding" MP was asking local authorities in Yorkshire and Humberside and the Post Office to restore the old Ridings names. Mr Bob Cryer, MP for Keighley, was going ahead with his campaign to put the Ridings of Yorkshire back on the map, after being told by the Government there was no legal reason against it. The Environment Department had said that there was provision in the 1972 Local Government Act for local authorities to change their names. So Mr Cryer was asking the four county councils in Yorkshire and Humberside if they would use the ridings names on their letterheads. He was also to ask the Post Office to use the Ridings in postal addresses and postmarks.

Updated: 16:19 Friday, February 10, 2006