100 years ago

Coast erosion around Great Britain had been the subject of an entertaining lecture at the Manchester University by Mr ER Matthews.

About two million tons of cliff were washed away annually, he said, and the worst erosion was taking place on the East Coast. There was every likelihood, if it were not checked, and an abnormal tide came along, that Spurn Point, at the mouth of the Humber, would be cut off from the mainland. He pointed out how the various harbour and coast defence works were contributing to the eating away of the coast by the sea.

On the east coast on the north sides of harbour walls large quantities of sand were held up which should have drifted down to the south side to protect the cliffs. The result was that at places like Scarborough, Bridlington, Yarmouth, and Lowestoft the south sides showed in an extraordinary fashion the inroads of the sea.

 

50 years ago

Factory-built bungalows of glass-fibre were being developed by a Yorkshire firm of railway wagon and carriage builders. Some could be built in a week.

Because of declining trade in wagon and carriage building, the Horbury, near Wakefield, firm of Charles Roberts and Co Ltd, had begun experimenting with glass fibre 12 months before. They had now developed a system of building which the managing director, Mr Russell Bailey, said was suitable for almost any type of building - factory, garage, hen hut or house.

Mr Bailey said: “There is an enormous cry now for factory-built houses. We have tried to design and build a coach-built house and get right away from the old traditional ideas. We did not know anything about houses, and I think that was an advantage because we brought a new mind to it.” The cost of a two or three-bedroom bungalow was much less than a bungalow of traditional materials and could be built in one week.

 

25 years ago

Viewers in the York area, it was reported, might have to wait months before joining the satellite TV revolution.

Dealers admitted they could not keep pace with demand for the dish aerials needed to receive the four new Sky channels. And even for the handful of families in York lucky enough to have a dish, the recent launch had not been totally trouble free. Mr Philip Cain, landlord of the Beeswing public house, in Hull Road, was able to tune into Eurosport, but not the other three stations.

Satellite TV specialist, Mr Ian Child, said it could be the end of April before guaranteed supplies of dishes were available. Mr McKay of a Harrogate-based firm said: “Satellite TV is without doubt the dawning of a new age, and people are very enthusiastic.”