Have you ever lived or worked in Coney Street – and would you be willing to share your memories?
If so, the York Archaeological Trust and oral historian Van Wilson would love to hear from you.
Van is working on the latest book in her popular Oral History series for the Trust.
Previous books have focused on the history of Hungate, Walmgate and Fishergate, amongst other areas of the city.
For her seventh book in the series, she is turning her attention to Coney Street, the Guildhall and Mansion House and the Trust is looking for people with memories of the area for her to interview.
Van has already carried out a number of interviews – which have unearthed some fascinating stories, said Christine Kyriacou, the Trust’s archivist.
Coney Street was an important fashion area in the years from 1900 to the 1950s. One interviewee, Carol Addy, talked about working in Rowntree's fashion store in Coney Street, just beside the Mansion House, in the 1960s.
“It was very much like ‘Are you Being Served?’,” she said. “A real hierarchy of buyers and older assistants, who were very much revered, then the slightly younger people maybe in their 30s and then we were the juniors.
“We had an art director, a chap in charge of the displays, who worked between York and Scarborough. He was Mr Mason and was terribly, terribly glamorous, a bit like Noel Coward.
He mesmerised me and you couldn’t take your eyes off him. He used to float in and say, “I feel blue today”. So we’d have blue things all over on display and all the mannequins would have to be dressed in blue.”
Janet Pigott, another interviewee, worked at the Guildhall in the 1950s. She recalled the Queen Mother visiting.
“Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was due to visit the city and sent her personal mother-of-pearl toilet seat on in advance, to be fixed for her use while she was on her visit.
“Mr Simpson, the Lord Mayor's butler, who was normally very serious, straitlaced and aloof, was amused by this request to have it fixed and told us about it. He invited all the ladies to come and look at it and we each took turns in sitting on it for a moment or two.
“Thank goodness she never knew, otherwise we might have all been in trouble.”
That is a story that will take some beating, but there are surely many other readers of The Press with memories to share.
“We would love to hear from anybody who has memories of the area from the 1940s onwards, particularly those who worked in shops such as Leak and Thorpe department store, Burgins Perfumery and Woolworths, or in offices such as The Press’s which were once in Coney Street,” said Christine.
“We would like to include some such reminiscences in the forthcoming book.”
• If you have any memories of the area or photographs that you would like to share, please contact York Archaeological Trust Archivist, Christine Kyriacou. Write to 47 Aldwark, York YO1 7BX, telephone 01904 663006 or email ckriacou@yorkat.co.uk
1950s: A Leak and Thorpe window display
1948: The King and Queen Elizabeth on the Mansion House steps during a visit to York
1950s: An agency for servants is one of the businesses occupying the street
1920s: The street is showing signs of affluence: a cars awaits a shopper at Leak and Thorpe
• We welcome contributions from readers to Yesterday Once More. However, we would ask you not to send in original old photographs, as we cannot guarantee that these will be returned. If you have old photographs or documents you would like to share with us, either send copies, phone Stephen Lewis on 01904 567263or email stephen.lewis@nqyne.co.uk
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