Wednesday, June 2, 2004

100 years ago: At the York City Police court a labourer from the Micklegate area was charged with having unlawfully and maliciously wounded another man by striking him on the head with a plant pot in the Windmill Inn, Blossom Street. The victim said he was in the Windmill when he saw the defendant fighting with another man. He broke up the fight and afterwards the defendant took up some plant pots and struck his victim on the head, causing two severe scalp wounds. The Bench sent the prisoner to prison for one month with hard labour, and also bound him over to keep the peace for six months.

50 years ago: It was announced that at the end of June the Midgley Pace-Eggers would be in York, along with the Royal Britannia Coconut Dancers, from Bacup, Lancashire, and the champion clog dancer of Durham and Northumberland, as part of a folk dance festival being held on the Mystery Plays' site in the Museum Gardens. The Pace-Eggers were boys from Midgley and Hebden Bridge, who presented their local version of the folk play performed usually at Easter, which was an ancient custom when the Mystery Plays were first performed in the streets of York. The Coconut Dancers were so called because on their hands and knees were fastened discs of wood - the nuts - with a large disc at the waist, which they used to beat a constant tattoo throughout their dance. They were a team of working men, considered to be one of the finest groups of traditional dancers in this country, who performed their dance in clogs, blackened faces, and blue jerseys with white barrel skirts over black breeches.

10 years ago: York's River Foss had been designated a sensitive area by the Government, and would soon have extra pollution protection, in the shape of phosphorous removing plants. They would be installed at the Walbutts sewage works, near Strensall, to clean up waste going into the water. The phosphorous in the river encouraged the growth of algae, which removed oxygen from the water and killed fish. The plants were being used on the Foss after it became blocked up with the algae two years previously.

Updated: 08:45 Wednesday, June 02, 2004