Thursday, July 15, 2004

100 years ago: Negotiations had been in progress for a considerable time between two large brewery companies in York and district, and an arrangement had now been drafted, according to which John J Hunt, Ltd, of York, would acquire the business of Robert Brogden, Sons and Company, whose brewery was at Tockwith. The intention was to close the brewery at Tockwith, was Messrs Hunt, with their premises in Aldwark, York, were able to supply all the houses owned by the two firms - Messrs Brogden's 50 or 60 licensed houses, chiefly in York, Harrogate, Northallerton and Knaresborough, as well as their own 70 or 80 houses in York, Darlington and other parts of the district.

50 years ago: Press photographers certainly see life, pointed out columnist Mr Nobody, and not always through a view-finder either. One of them attended a York sports meeting and was immediately accosted by a woman, who chanted: "Nice day, Mr Rootie, I claim the ten shillings." He was mystified by this performance until he glanced through the programme and discovered that Mr Rootie was a fictitious character who, if correctly challenged, had money to give away. Before the photographer left the ground he was approached five times by eager reward hunters, who were not wholly convinced that he was a bona fide member of the paper's staff. Nor did he have the consolation of spotting Mr Rootie himself.

25 years ago: York Archaeological Trust, facing a cash crisis over the world-famous Viking dig in Coppergate, received a £35,000 donation from the Danish Tjaereborg Group, the largest air charter travel agency in Western Europe. It was the largest single gift yet received by the trust and would be used to equip its conservation laboratories, where tenth century timber workshops from the dig would be prepared for the public display

Updated: 08:34 Thursday, July 15, 2004