Wednesday, October 27, 2004

100 years ago: Along the Great North Road, the highway to York, London, and Edinburgh, along which at one time coaches rattled daily, and along which motor cars now race daily, there were few better-known landmarks than the inn known as York Gates. The old hostel, which no longer sported a sign, had been much damaged by recent winds, and considerable renovation was necessary. York Gates was over a score miles from the city of York itself, and was now the residence of a farmer, whose father-in-law, peculiarly enough, resided at the Oak Tree, the next old coaching house along the Great North Road. Both were farmers, and at both of these houses, legend had it, Dick Turpin not infrequently called while on those expeditions which made him famous. There was a perfectly good stretch of road for some miles past these old coaching houses, of which perhaps York Gates is the most famous, being known to hundreds, and pointed out regularly as "one of the interesting houses on the essentially interesting old Roman road."

50 years ago: Pony rides round the park were the latest service provided for the young people of York. The Parks Superintendent was offered the use of two ponies for the half-term week, and decided that horseback tours of Rowntree Park would keep them off the streets and out of mischief, especially as the children used to have paddle-boats on the lake, but they had gone. If children liked the pony rides, at thruppence a time, then they might become a regular feature at the park during school holidays.

25 years ago: Thousands of bikini-clad women had been breaking the law for years on the beaches at Whitby, as under a 55-year-old by-law they were illegal, Scarborough Borough Council experts had discovered. The ruling was made by the former Whitby Urban District Council and was never repealed, and so a £5 fine could be made against all women in bikinis. The by-law also extended to men in swimming trunks, and it was specifically stated that the type of costumes that were acceptable to wear on the beach were ones that "extended from the shoulders." Ironically, Scarborough was a top resort for nude bathers in the last century, the by-law permitting it having been rescinded only five years previously.

Updated: 08:46 Wednesday, October 27, 2004