100 years ago

The proposal to establish a horticultural institute in York had created a good deal of discussion and interest.  The Minster City had been practically fixed on as complying with the requirements of the Department of Horticulture, and had in fact received the approval of its chief officials.

The advantages offered at York were: An admirable railway centre; a suitable experimental and demonstration site of not less than five acres with possibility of extension; a building already specially constructed for botanical teaching and also for this purpose with the approval of the Board of Education, almost adjacent to the above site, which at a comparatively small outlay could be arranged to satisfy all the conditions of the horticultural department as regards horticultural instruction under the scheme; glasshouse accommodation with room for extension; proximity of the suggested site to extensive nursery grounds.

All these points were strongly in favour of York. The buildings and land were currently occupied by the British Botanical Association, and were situated in Acomb Road.

 

50 years ago

The Treasury had been accused in a report presented to Parliament of “failing to fulfil its obligations” in considering the cost of the Concorde Anglo-French supersonic airliner.

The all-party Estimates Committee expressed concern at the decision to commit Britain to spending at least £75m on the project over the next ten years. No precise estimate of the Concorde project had been available when the agreement with France was signed in 1962, stated the report.

The project was admitted to be “speculative” and the committee said: “It is evident that the Government entered into a binding commitment with the French Government for the development of this project, with an imprecise knowledge of the probable cost.”

 

25 years ago

Ripon’s Victorian workhouse could, it was hoped, be turned into the first museum of its kind in Britain if a local historian’s plans came to fruition.

Peter MacNamara believed that the former workhouse in Allhallowgate, which had been used until the 1940s, should be preserved. He felt it was an important part of history, and wanted future generations to understand how people who were virtually “imprisoned” in them lived.

The building was owned by the county council and used for a variety of purposes including the storage of old documents. But Mr MacNamara believed it should be used as a living museum depicting life in the workhouse, as well as a heritage centre and art gallery.