Queen’s Staith, York
When I was a child in the 1970s, we sometimes went to Queen’s Staith, particularly if we’d just got some fish and chips from mum’s cousin’s shop on Bishophill. Rowntree’s barges used to be unloaded there. I found some Nigerian …
Category: That was then
Having my hair put-up professionally
Whenever we go to an event where you can have your hair/make-up done professionally I make an appointment to have my hair done. Unsurprisingly they make my hair look fantastic, which can’t be said for when I do it myself! …
Living in the past? Me?
My mum and dad have kept quite a lot from when they were married in 1964. They cook their porridge in the microwave in a milk-glass bowl, now faded to pink. Mum gave me her Tala cooks’ measure when I …
Old burial facts
In 1668 and 1678, Acts were passed stating that bodies had to buried in wool. This was to bolster the wool trade and reduce importation of linen. Some old Parish register entries state ‘LLAN’ which guarantees that the body had …
Random facts about York
** Knocking the heart out of York through the creation of Parliament Street and Piccadilly caused the shopping centre to be so nondescript that the York Chamber of Trade held a competition in 1975 for suggestions to improve it. ** …
The Mount, York
The Mount was previously called St James Hill. St James’s Chapel used to be on the corner of what is now Mill Mount, the road which used to lead to a windmill and the Mount Mills. St James’s Chapel claim …
Blossom Street and Queen Street, York
The Windmill pub on the corner of Blossom Street and Queen Street recalls mills on the Mount. In fact, the pub didn’t use to be on the corner. A building used by Brown Brothers and Taylor Ltd was demolished to …
York Mansion House and Red House
The Red House on the corner of Duncombe Place and St Leonard’s Place was built in 1714 by Sir William Robinson. He had been a Lord Mayor and MP. The land had been leased to him by the Corporation and …
Yorkshire Philosophical Society and the Museum Gardens
The Yorkshire Philosophical Society, the YPS, was set up in 1822. Around six years later part of the grounds of St Mary’s Abbey was given to the Society by royal grant. It had been necessary to rescue St Mary’s Abbey …
Yorkshire Philosophical Society and the Museum Gardens Read more »
York Minster Gates
Those of you who have been to cathedral cities such as Salisbury or Wells will know that they have doors or gates into their cathedral close or precinct. York Minster used to have one too, entered by four gates. One …