Monday, October 11, 2004

100 years ago: A columnist advised his readers not to take up the idea that the Lord Mayor of York considered 17s per week (about £53 today) sufficient to keep a family upon. Some folks had put that interpretation upon a remark made by his lordship at the Police Court, in a case in which a husband was charged with cruel neglect of his family, for which the man was sent to prison for six months. In the course of the hearing, it came out that the prisoner's wife and daughters earned about 17s 6d per week, and the Lord Mayor pointed out that many families in York had only 17s per week, and yet kept themselves clean and respectable, in striking contrast to the condition of the woman's children. "Obviously," according to the columnist, "what the Lord Mayor meant was not that 17s was sufficient, but that many poor families had to make it sufficient, because they hadn't got any more... instead of making a harsh unfeeling comparison the Lord Mayor was really offering a kindly bit of good advice to the woman to make the best use of her scanty means." A respected city clergyman and "anti-humbug" also backed Lord Mayor, saying he was the last person to suggest that a family could be adequately maintained for the sum stated, but the Lord Mayor was aware, as an old member of the guardians, that a very large number of labourers only received that amount, and also how stern necessity compelled many of the people to carry on the struggle successfully.

50 years ago: An audacious fox in the Kirkbymoorside area carried the war right into "enemy territory" when he raided the unlocked hen roost of a Sinnington huntsman. The night raid was made right under the noses of a full pack of hounds and 15 head of poultry were wiped out.

25 years ago: Five actors from the York Theatre Royal visited the Viking excavation at Coppergate to pick up hints and technical advice. They were all appearing in a production of Death Grip, a play about four archaeologists and their race against time as they clash with a wealthy industrialist over the preservation of a historic site required for redevelopment. Later, members of the York Archaeological Trust would make a reciprocal visit, as they would be at early rehearsals for the play, to check the information used in the play was correct.

Updated: 13:07 Saturday, October 09, 2004