Saturday, November 6, 2004

100 years ago: The enterprising managers of the Opera House and Empire were having constructed, on the top of the building, letters 5ft high showing the word Empire, which at night would be illuminated by electricity. This would be seen from almost any part of the city, and was expected to have a fine effect against the night sky.

50 years ago: Mr Nobody asked how many people knew there was once an institute in York where people met to discuss popular science, art and literature, in an age before films, the radio and television taught these subjects in three easy lessons. The York Institute was founded in 1827 in Bedern, before moving to St Saviourgate, where it was known as the York Mechanics' Institute, changing its title again a few years later to York Institute of Popular Science and Literature. The premises were taken down in 1845 to make way for a larger institute building, which flourished, but in 1883 it was decided to build another institute and the foundation stone of the new one in Clifford Street was laid by the Prince of Wales. The Clifford Street Institute was later taken over by the City Council. It was there that technical education in the city began in earnest, and it changed its name again to York Technical College. But the fate of the St Saviourgate building was not so easy to trace, because the reference books the columnist consulted appeared to have lost interest in it after the 1880s. A print, recently discovered while someone was "turning out some drawers", was shown to the columnist, and it showed that in 1884 the St Saviourgate Institute was still in use as a reading room.

25 years ago: It was announced that the centuries-old Scarborough Fair, made internationally famous by the folk song of that name, was being revived. It would include a carnival procession, medieval banquet, bands, an ox roasting and a traditional fair with crafts. The original fair ended more than 100 years ago, and all that remained was The Buttercross, a stone monument in the old part of Scarborough near the harbour, and a couple of old posters in Scarborough Museum.

Updated: 14:51 Friday, November 05, 2004