Some York buildings that were demolished were more important than others. But few are quite so haunting as the demolished cottage standing surrounded by trees in the photo on this page.
It is haunting because the photo, taken in the 1880s according to Explore York, is almost unrecognisable as anything to do with the Scarcroft area today.
The cottage was demolished ahead of the development of Scarcroft Hill in the late 1890s. The photo reveals just how much this area of York has changed. In case you’re having difficulty working out where exactly the cottage was, the grass in the foreground is now the site of Scarcroft allotments.
Other photos on these pages - which once again all come from Explore York - show various other lost or transformed buildings. They include the old Castle Mills Bridge, pictured in 1954. The glassworks behind the bridge have since been demolished, as has Melbourne Terrace Methodist Church, in the top left of the photo, identified by its bell tower.
There are two photographs of buildings which were demolished to make way for the extension of Piccadilly in 1911. One was White Swan Yard, the other, the premises which once stood next to the Red Lion Inn on Merchantgate. Thankfully, the pub survived.
Holy Trinity Church on Micklegate has gone through many transformations since being founded as Micklegate Priory in 1089. One of the more recent was the reconstruction of the church’s west front between 1902 and 1905. We have three photographs, which we assume were taken while this work was being carried out. Two show workmen with the demolished choir in the south east angle of the church’s east wall. A third shows the rectory garden, with a demolished wall.
Other photos show:
l demolition of Harkers Hotel, York, in the 1920s. The original building was demolished as part of the widening of St Helen’s Square.
l the junction of Bootham and Marygate, in about 1910. The two properties in the centre were demolished to show St Mary’s Tower.
l a house being demolished in Hungate in the 1930s. The silo of Leetham’s Mill can be seen behind, so it is likely the photo was taken in Garden Place or Bellerby’s Yard.
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