Thursday, March 16, 2006

100 years ago

In the interesting history of the formation of the York Cemetery Company, which would appear in the following day's "Yorkshire Weekly Herald," it was stated that the number of internments in the cemetery since it was opened in 1837 had been 67,957, not far short of the total existing population of the city. The article also contained the history of the cholera burial ground, which was formed outside the city walls on the outbreak of the cholera in York in 1832, and still remains in existence near the railway station. The outbreak of cholera in 1832 occurred on Sunday, 3rd June, in Beedham's Court, Skeldergate, in which curiously enough, it was recorded that the plague manifested itself in 1604.

50 years ago

Residents of Malton and district had been intrigued by the sight of a GPO television detector van in the streets. But if they had a television licence they didn't have to worry, it was the "pirates" the Post Office was after. The accuracy with which it was possible to pinpoint a switched on television set was amazing. On the roof of the van were three loop aerials - one in the centre at the front and one at each of the rear corners. With the aid of earphones and a small meter it was possible to hear the high pitched tone of a switched on set, the strength of which was shown on the meter, and by switching from one loop to another to be able to tell from which direction it was coming.

25 years ago

Bench seats damaged by vandals in a York shopping arcade would not be replaced. They had been smashed one after the other until none remained. "The seats had proved more of a problem than they were worth," said a spokesman for Norwich Union, owners of Davygate Arcade. In recent months the bench sections of several seats had been broken and the owners had removed the concrete supports. Mr John Garner, the company's press officer, said: "We do not plan to replace them. Tenants in the arcade were unanimous in saying that they did not discernibly help trade. It was also felt that the seats helped to attract what I would call an undesirable element to the arcade." Improved lighting had been installed to try to cope with the problem of people sleeping there after hours. "There are further plans in hand to improve the quality of the centre," said Mr Garner. "At the moment we have no plans for closing the centre at night, though I think that would be possible if we decided it was necessary." The Stonegate Arcade, which opened recently and was attracting new tenants, was closed at night with metal grilles.

Updated: 08:50 Thursday, March 16, 2006