Recently in Bishopthorpe Community Archive Category

This year, Girl Guides and Brownies throughout the world celebrated the centenary of the Girl Guide movement.  Here in Bishopthorpe, we discovered that the Guides can trace their roots back to 1926 when the 20th York (Bishopthorpe) Company registered with the Girl Guide Association.  (They later became the 1st Bishopthorpe Company.) 

This prompted a search through the Bishopthorpe Archive for photographs, some of which we share with you below.

If you have memories of time spent with the Bishopthorpe Brownies and Guides, we'd be very pleased to hear from you.  Just add a comment below or email us on historygroup@bishopthorpe.net

1) November 1944: Armistice Day Parade

In 1944 the Girl Guides and Brownies, pictured above, were invited to join the Bishopthorpe Armistice Day Parade.  This included the local members of the Home Guard, the National Fire Service, Civil Defence and the be-medalled ex-servicemen from the First World War.  Following a service in St. Andrew's Church, they marched through the village to the Palace where photographs were taken of all the units.

We know the names of most of the girls in the photograph, including the two adults who are Myrtle Simpson (left) and Jean Hudson (right).

During the Second World War Guide uniforms were almost unobtainable.  One former guide told us that Clothing Coupons were needed for warm winter clothes so uniforms had to be passed down by girls who had left the guides or outgrown their uniforms.  The girls took badges for First Aid, Knots, Morse Code, Field Survival, International Flag Recognition and mending and patching. (All very important in war time.)


2) June 1963: Queen's Guide Award

Bishopthorpe Guides Pauline Horton, Margaret Colton and Isobel Wilmot congratulate Jane Standing on gaining her Queen's Guide Award.  Introduced in 1946, this award is the highest that can be earned in the Guide movement.  It involves completing a series of tough challenges within a three-year period.

Spring is in the air and local Clubs and Societies start to think of annual outings - at least they used to do!  In the late 1940s, the Acaster and Bishopthorpe Fishing Club would hire a bus and take a summer away day for a picnic and - what?  They look a bit over-dressed for a spot of fishing!  Mrs Lily Foggin, who donated the following photographs to the Archive, told me that on these outings her husband Reg, "Left me with the bairns - well, I wasn't interested in fishing." 

Reg Foggin can be seen seated in the centre row, third from the right.  Next to him on the right are Eric Barton and Arthur Schofield.  Does anyone know where this photograph was taken?

To be fair, Mrs. Foggin did get away from the bairns occasionally. However, the ladies, of course, followed more cultural pursuits!
 
In 1947, the Bishopthorpe Mother's Union enjoyed a trip to Fountains Abbey.  Mrs. Foggin is standing on the left in the striped skirt. 

Sporting their Sunday-best outfits, the Mother's Union visited Ripon in 1952.  Mrs. Lily Foggin is kneeling in the centre, front row, with Beatrice Fountain and Elsie Cox. Standing behind in a white suit and clutching a smart bag, is Mrs. Irene Thackrah. They all seem to be relishing their precious day of fresh air and fun!

Can you provide more information about these photographs?  Just add a comment below.

 

Dr. William Thomson, the 86th Archbishop of York, had hardly set foot in Bishopthorpe when the appearance of the village dramatically changed.  Only months following his enthronement in February 1863, the Archbishop removed the antiquated machinery which pumped water into the Palace from the murky depths of the Ouse, and built a water tower and pump house in Acaster Lane.  This, presumably, drew water from an underground spring which was probably somewhat cleaner than the supply his predecessors had used.

On his arrival in Bishopthorpe, the new Archbishop would soon have become aware of the pitiful state of his drinking water.  Three miles up river, the increasing numbers of York citizens were discharging raw sewage straight into the Ouse; not to mention the detritus from slaughterhouses, pigsties and dung heaps.   The situation had been eased in 1846 when the York New Water Works Company built a filtration works at Acomb Landing.  This meant that, happily for the inhabitants of York, their domestic water supply was extracted upstream of the city's foul outlets.   However, downstream, this was not the case with the Archbishop's household. 

It was to be many years before further utility improvements materialised in the city and, in turn, Bishopthorpe.  In 1880, the village worthies became impatient at the situation and sought to interest the directors of York New Water Works Company in laying a mains water supply.  The response to a letter from Bishopthorpe vicar Rev. Hudson was positive, but a guaranteed rental of £80 per annum was demanded.  The idea was dropped and another fifteen years passed before the Company expanded its plans to include Bishopthorpe. 

Three years later, in 1898, water was finally laid on to supply the whole village; the water tower and horse-driven pump house in Acaster Lane at last became redundant.  Archbishop Thomson had died in 1890, but would surely have welcomed such developments. Succeeding Archbishops did not find further use for the buildings, neither were they unduly bothered about what became of them.  The two buildings, therefore, remained in the village landscape resembling misplaced follies.  

Pigeons moved into the tower and made nests which were raided by young boys keen to take eggs and enjoy a furtive drag or two on a cigarette. These activities came to a head in 1935 when ten-year-old Alwyn Seward fell from the tower.  He died from his injuries in hospital the following day.  Despite this tragic event, the tower remained in place. 
 

During World War II, the Home Guard found the tower a useful place in which to store ammunition, but years of neglect had taken their toll.  Villagers were concerned about loose tiles being a danger to pedestrians.  The Ecclesiastical Commissioners now owned the two structures and W. J. Simpson, the well-known local builder, carried out repairs on their behalf as were required to make it safe.  Following the war, Mr. Simpson, who was chairman of the Parish Council, came up with an idea on how to recycle the circular, tiled roof of the pump house; after all, building materials were in short supply at the time. 

The Parish Council had been negotiating with the West Yorkshire Road Car Company over the installation of a bus shelter.  Mr. Simpson offered to reconstruct the pump house roof on to the circular pinfold wall, which was situated at the junction of Main Street and Copmanthorpe Lane, thus converting it into the much-needed shelter.  He measured both structures and knew they would be a perfect match.  However, the West Yorkshire County Council turned down the proposal telling Mr. Simpson that the shelter would constitute an encroachment and obstruct the visibility across the road.  The pinfold was eventually used as a bus stop, but the villagers went without protection from the weather.  

 

Following this episode, the Archbishop's water tower and pump house were demolished in July 1946.  The late Robin Hill, a former resident, recorded in his diary that the water tower was "…felled by having a hole blown out of the base on the E. side".  Apparently, the cap on top of the roof shot into the field on the opposite side of the Lane.  Mr. Hill further remarked that village opinion was divided as to whether the structures were demolished out of necessity - in order to build houses - or, that it was an act of vandalism. 

Would Archbishop Thomson have minded?  Being a man interested in science and all things mechanical, he would probably have knocked the tower down much sooner and moved on. 


Linda Haywood

email: historygroup@bishopthorpe.net 

Sources

P. M. Tillott (Ed.), Victoria County History: The City of York (1961), pp 281-286, 461.
John R. Keble, History of the Parish and Manor-House of Bishopthorpe (1905), pp 88, 30.
Rev. Hudson's letter to York New Water Works Company, 1 March 1880. 
    (Borthwick Institute PR BIS/113)
The memories of Mrs. Audrey Bastard, sister of Alwyn Seward.
Yorkshire Gazette: 31 May 1935, p5. (Report of the funeral of Alwyn Seward.)
Bishopthorpe Parish Council Minutes: 1945 - 1946
Robin Hill's Diary (Bishopthorpe Archive)
H. Kirk-Smith, William Thomson, Archbishop of York (1958), pp167-168.

When the children of Bishopthorpe posed for the camera during a day trip to Filey in 1949, little did they know that, 57 years later, their captured image would be reproduced within a community archive project. 

Bishopthorpe Local History Group was awarded £5,000 from the Awards for All (Lottery) scheme to set up a Community Multimedia Archive.  The money enabled the Group to buy a computer, scanner and software to record photographs of Bishopthorpe people, buildings and events.  Oral reminiscences can also be included as well as cine and video footage and other memorabilia.  The aim is to present an archive created by the people who live in the community.  The result will eventually be published on a CDROM. 

The software we use is called COMMA (Community Multimedia Archive).  It was originally created by a Leeds co-operative called Storyville and first used by the Batley Community Archive in 1995.  Since then, many groups have built up similar archives in towns and villages throughout the UK and abroad including, more locally, at Poppleton and Tang Hall. The equipment is housed at Bishopthorpe Library in Main Street.

We have been working on the archive for some time and currently have about 1,200 photographs.  They range from the late 19th century to the year 2000.

How does it work? Once the material is scanned into the computer, it is catalogued and indexed thus making it easily searched by topic, name of person, place, location and date.  For example, searching an event such as the Bishopthorpe pageant will produce photographs and programmes dating from 1930 to 2000.   A local person can be followed through from childhood to adulthood and can even be identified within a group using a system called 'hot-spotting'. Photographs of buildings and streets reveal the growth and change in the village.  Creating a collection in this way reflects our cultural heritage and preserves village history for future generations.

We will continue publishing photographs from the archive on these pages. 

How can you help?

We always need help in identifying the people, places and events in photographs like the one illustrated.  The stories and memories which lie behind them are also of great interest and can be included in the 'reminiscence' sections.

In fact, we are interested in any Bishopthorpe-related material for the archive; not only photographs and slides, but also documents, newspaper articles and leaflets.  

We can be contacted through Bishopthorpe Library or:

Linda Haywood, 39 Acaster Lane, Bishopthorpe, York YO23 2SA. 

Telephone: 01904 704584

Email:  

historygroup@bishopthorpe.net

Bishopthorpe Social Club was founded in 1946 and this photograph was taken of the founder members during that year. The Club purchased or rented the large, traditionally built house on Main Street, formerly a private residence known as 'The Poplars'. It became a friendly meeting place for both sexes where, for a nominal annual subscription, members could enjoy a game of cards, billiards, darts and many other pursuits. From 1948 to 1966, the York & District Society of Model Engineers rented part of the extensive gardens to run their locomotives.

A large, framed copy of this photograph hangs inside the Club.
The men in the picture are:(Left to right)
Back row: George Pearson, Bill Snape, Tommy Mennell.
Middle row: Jack Elliot, Jack Masterman, Herbert Seal, Bert Tait, Ben Hudson, Duke Appleton, Fred Waite.
Front row: Reg Forrest, W. J. (Bill) Simpson, Ted Foster, Fred Finnerton, Dick Myers.

We would be grateful for further information regarding the history of the Club. For example, what was the initial idea behind the club? Was it purchased outright? When did it become affiliated to the Working Men's Association? If you can answer any of these questions, please see 'Contact'.