THIS time last year, Tony Blair had no inkling of what was about to hit him. Small groups of hauliers, angered by the high rate of petrol duty, were preparing to mount cheerful blockades at oil refineries and fuel depots.

At first, the Prime Minister did not take their protest seriously. Even when petrol supplies began to run out in northern England he was unmoved. Only when he saw the queues outside pumping stations with his own eyes did he belatedly realise the depth of the crisis.

The country came to the brink of disaster before the protesters backed down. It was the worst moment of Mr Blair's premiership, and his stature never fully recovered.

The fuel protest brought home the level of our reliance on the car, van and lorry. So it is odd to think that, 80 years ago, York had so little motorised traffic that the entire city only needed one petrol station.

Two petrol pumps were installed at the Forsselius garage in Blossom Street in September 1921, the city's first. It had been a long battle even for these contraptions to see the light of day.

William Thomas Forsselius was a Norwegian engineer who came to York in his job with the London and North Eastern Railway, which ran North Sea Ferries as well as trains.

He opened a garage in 1908 next to the Lion and Lamb public house on Blossom Street, and became the distributor for Morris motor cars in 1921.

At this time, the premises were on the opposite side to the art deco building which people still know as the Forsselius garage - even though the company moved out long ago.

Forsselius had a 100-gallon tank of petrol on the premises. Car owners would go and fill up their cans from this supply, as JH Baines recalled in a 1974 article for The Dalesman.

"Petrol in the early days came in two-gallon sealed tins which cost one shilling, or 1s 1d. Shell was in red tins and Pratts in green tins.

"Benzol cost 10d per gallon!"

As car ownership gradually increased, so did the demand for petrol. So Forsselius asked for permission to install pumps.

In 1920, planners inspected the site and turned the application down. Undeterred, the garage applied for a second time, this time with the backing of the powerful Anglo American Oil Company, and was given the green light.

An 800-gallon tank was dug and the two pumps finally became operational 80 years ago this month.

During the Second World War, Forsselius's showrooms were used by York City Fire Brigade and as a store for Evening Press newsprint. Mr Forsselius died at the end of the war.

In 1937 the firm bought the premises on the other side of Blossom Street and built the first half of the handsome showrooms, including the clock tower. The second half wasn't completed until 1955.

The delay was much to do with the outbreak of war, and the restrictions on building that followed.

Pride of place in the '57 showroom was the latest car from the Wolseley range. This four-door 1 litre saloon was available in 24 colours, for a price of £758.

The original property on the east side of Blossom Street was retained as a workshop until it was closed in 1969, when a £100,000 garage was built for Forsselius at Millfield Lane, Upper Poppleton.

In those early days, motoring was an adventure. Few were rich enough to own a car, but those who did took every chance to get together with fellow enthusiasts. The York Motoring Club was established in the early years of the last century, and JH Baines described how the Yorkshire Automobile Club organised the first speed trial for members on Saltburn Sands in 1908.

"The highest speed achieved was 122mph. A Leeds solicitor, Mr CP Wilson, was the club secretary.

"These events attracted leading racing drivers and competitors from all over the country. For days before the trials the drivers were out on the sands at daybreak for trial runs and tuning up...

"Other competitors included Malcolm Campbell, in the first Blue Bird, Parry Thomas with a straight 8 cylinder Leyland, the Italian driver Bordino in a 300hp four cylinder Fiat, Albert Farnell in a 45hp Daimler touring car from Bradford, Percy Lambert with two Talbot cars and Alf Masser of Leeds, bringing two Mass cars...

"When the speed trials were run, the course was roped off and 100 policemen were posted along the course. The spectators had a wonderful view from the Sand Banks."

The Twenties were the era when York's roads were first widened to make way for the motor car. Layerthorpe Bridge was first widened in this decade, before being enlarged still further some years later. Monk Bridge was widened between 1924 and 1928, and Harker's Hotel, an imposing landmark, was demolished in 1928 as part of a project to enlarge St Helen's Square.

By the 1940s, motorised traffic was beginning to have a substantial impact on the ancient streets of York, despite petrol rationing. Garages were springing up all over the place, including the City Garage in Blake Street, a Rover dealer; the Castle Garage opposite the Castle Museum, which sold Austins; Lister & Edmond, of The Mount and Holgate Road, dealing in Humbers, Hillmans and Sunbeam Talbots; not to mention motorcycle dealers such as Shearsmith's on Blossom Street.

Two-way traffic was squeezing its way around Coney Street, Parliament Street and even Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate.

By 1948, traffic congestion was such that it was causing the council a serious headache. In a document published that year, A Plan For The City Of York, it was recommended that a dual-carriageway ring road was built at an average distance of 250 yards outside the walls. The age when the car dominated our environment had truly begun.