Bus Service Changes

New Timetables

First York have introduced new timetables for the 11 and 11S services effective from December 2019. The service 11 changes seem to be mostly adjustments to time allowances for the journey between The Stonebow and York Station, to take account of traffic conditions and crew changes. Timings from Stonebow are largely unchanged, but Station departure times vary by a few minutes with times at other stops to Bishopthorpe also adjusted to match. This results in the timings of services at the terminus on Acaster Lane being harder to memorise, as they’re no longer a regular ‘x minutes past and y minutes to the hour’. Evening services have been adjusted so the first bus to do the South Bank loop on the way to York is now not until 19:26.

The timetables can viewed using these links:

Service 11 Monday to Friday
Service 11 Saturday

The Sunday service has been renamed from 500 to 11S, to make it more obvious to users of the number 11 that it’s the Sunday version of that service and travels between York and Bishopthorpe.

The timetable can be viewed here:

11S Sunday

Christmas changes

As usual, the No. 11 service changes during the Christmas holiday period.

  • There will be no buses on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
  • Services will cease early evening on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
  • On other weekdays and on Saturdays during the holiday period the Saturday
    timetable will operate.
  • Park and Ride services will operate on Boxing Day.

The 21 service (Colton -York via Bishopthorpe) does not operate on Sundays or Bank
Holidays.

The Lost Men of Bishopthorpe

Finding their Stories

Ken Haywood’s book telling the stories of the men who are commemorated on Bishopthorpe’s War Memorial was published in November, 2017.

In the process of completing the research on the men, Ken became aware of a number of other Bishopthorpe men from both wars who died as a result of service with the Forces but who were not commemorated on the village memorial.

As a result of the publication of ‘The Lost Men of Bishopthorpe’, the Parish Council committed to adding the additional names to the War Memorial by the time of the centenary of the end of the First World War in November last year. The work took place in the second part of October, 2018, and the work was completed in time for Remembrance Sunday on the 11th November.

However, the story of one man, whose name was added to the memorial in 2018, does not feature in ‘Lost Men’.
Second Lieutenant Wilfrid Mervyn Dunnington-Jefferson was killed in action with 3 Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers on 25/26 April, 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres.

Ken did not find references to 2nd Lt. Dunnington-Jefferson until the middle of 2018, well after ‘Lost Men’ was published, but just in time for Wilfrid Mervyn’s name to be added to the Memorial with the other new names.

Much more recently, Ken managed to contact Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson. She is Wilfrid’s niece and was very pleased to hear that he was now commemorated on Bishopthorpe’s War Memorial. Nicky has lived in London for many years, but, as luck would have it, she was about to visit Yorkshire just after Ken established contact. In early August, Ken and Linda met Nicky at Middlethorpe Hall, where Wilfrid was born, then took her to see the War Memorial. Stewart Harrison, Parish Council Chairman, came along to meet Nicky, who was effusive in her appreciation of what the Parish Council had achieved.

 

Wilfrid Mervyn Dunnington-Jefferson’s name in the middle of the new panel on Bishopthorpe War Memorial.

 

Ken and Stewart point out her Uncle Wilfrid’s name to Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson.

The Lost Men of Bishopthorpe, price £10+£2 p&p [in UK], can be obtained directly from Ken at 39 Acaster Lane, Bishopthorpe, York, YO23 2SA
Tel. 01904 704584

Bus Service Changes

From 02 Sept. service 21 will be operated by York Pullman.
Timings from Bishopthorpe will be 5 mins. later than at present, except for the 08:25.
The main change will be at the York end of the route; the 21 will no longer go via Stonebow to Foss Bank but will start/terminate on Piccadilly. This will inconvenience folk who have used this bus to reach the supermarkets, but hopefully the shorter route will make punctual running easier to achieve.

Bank Holiday Monday.
The First bus website is silent on the topic, but a journey timing search indicates that as usual on bank holidays the No. 11 will be replaced by our Sunday bus (service 500) and timetable.

The Folly Flâneuse Visits Bishopthorpe

The Folly Flâneuse visited the old church by the river at Bishopthorpe recently and found a new item for her blog.  What is this about?  Well, the blog is described as “Rambles to, and ramblings about, follies and landscape buildings.”   Click on this link to find out:

https://thefollyflaneuse.com/st-andrews-old-church-facade-bishopthorpe-yorkshire/

Don’t forget to explore the rest of the site where Flâneuse explores  follies from many parts of the UK.

 

 

August 1919: Bishopthorpe Celebrates the Peace

The children’s tea party in Main Street. Mrs. Paver’s ‘Peace’ cake can be seen in the centre. Everyone looks glum but it could be that the photographer has just told them to keep quite still!

It was a grand day, the whole village turned out – they were in a mood to party.  Bunting and flags were spread across Bishopthorpe’s Main Street, trestle tables were piled high with food, and a place was found for Mrs. Walter Paver’s special “Peace” cake which reached three tiers high.  Children and adults dressed in a colourful array of fancy dress costumes portraying Charlie Chaplin, Irish colleens, admirals, nurses and soldiers. This last was a reminder that the war remained fresh in the mind for many.

Hostilities in the terrible 1914-1918 war had ceased at the Armistice on 11 November 1918 but, officially, the war did not end until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June the following year.  To mark the end of the war the government decided that Peace should be celebrated nationally with a public holiday on 19th July 1919.   On that day thousands of people gathered in London and watched 15,000 allied troops take part in a victory parade.

London was not the only city to rejoice.  In York a water carnival was organised with events taking place throughout the day.  The press reported that “animated scenes were witnessed on the river”.  Animated indeed as hundreds watched displays and swimming contests taking place between Lendal and Scarborough Bridges.  This was followed by a water polo match and great excitement was caused by high diving performances from a parapet on Lendal Bridge.  The Minster bells pealed for an hour at noon and again in the evening; shops, businesses and the Mansion House were gaily decorated, flowers were used in abundance.  Parades marched through the streets and bands played on the Knavesmire and river-side walks.

A peace festival for York children was postponed until the summer holiday in August.  Likewise, many villages and towns held their own peace celebrations during that month.  Bishopthorpe schoolchildren were granted an extra week’s holiday and therefore the village’s own peace celebration was held on Tuesday, 19th August.  The children enjoyed their tea sitting at tables set on the highway outside The Ebor Inn.  Each child was presented with a specially decorated Peace mug, a bag of sweets and nuts and a slice of Mrs. Paver’s cake.

This was not only a jamboree for the children.  At six o’ clock about 200 adults sat down to a “sumptuous repast”.  As well as the fancy dress competition, numerous races were held including “Cockerel” races for married men, married women and children. Later in the evening Rex Johnson, who had won the slow bicycle race, revived in time to play piano for the dancing.  The party concluded with a good display of fireworks.

 

Linda Haywood

Bishopthorpe Community Archive

Sources:

The Yorkshire Post: Mon. 21 July 1919, p10

Yorkshire Gazette: Sat, 23 August 1919

Archbishop of York’s School Log Book 3: 24 July 1919

Orchard Project – May/June Updates and Newsletter

Bishopthorpe Community Orchard and Heritage project

This is a Heritage Lottery funded project which aims to highlight Bishopthorpe’s orchard heritage and create a new community orchard for the village. The project runs from 1 November 2018 to 31 October 2019 and the grant award is £8,900. The project is being run by volunteers on behalf of the Parish Council.

The community orchard site, on the edge of Ferry Lane playing field, has now changed beyond recognition!

It has been fenced and carefully prepared with the help of many keen volunteers and with guidance from Jonathon Short of Ainsty Landscapes, and has been sown with a mix of native perennial wildflowers and grass seed. It is very difficult to create a wildflower meadow, as wildflowers quickly get overtaken by grasses on fertile soils. But we are hoping a few wildflowers will grow: species like knapweed, ox eye daisy, yarrow, common cat’s ear, self-heal, red clover and vetch, which are a bit more robust. Yellow rattle will also help keep the grasses in check. In the first year we are not expecting any to flower, as the site will need to be cut regularly to keep on top of the flush of weeds – in particular Himalayan balsam which is abundant on this site. Himalayan balsam is actually not too difficult to get rid of as it is an annual species and seeds only survive for about 3 years in the soil. Last year it was hand pulled before it seeded, so only 2 years to go!

The orchard is big enough to fit in about 16 ‘half standard’ fruit trees, which will eventually grow to a height of about 4 metres. The Heritage Lottery grant requires 10 trees to be planted by the end of October, when the project ends. This is not great timing for planting fruit trees which are supplied as ‘bare root’. However, we have found a way round it by buying 1-year old trees this winter from Roger’s Nursery in Pickering and potting them up. They will be looked after by Brunswick Organic Nursery over the summer.

There has been a lot of interest in the varieties of old fruit trees found in the village, and we are keen for the new trees to reflect that (as well as be tasty to eat!). The varieties we have bought are:

Apples:

  • Ellison’s Orange
  • Lord Lambourne
  • Peasgood Nonsuch
  • Belle de Boskoop
  • James Grieve
  • Worcester Permain
  • Discovery
  • Katy

Pears:

  • Beurre Hardy
  • Concorde

This leaves scope for about 6 more, which may well include some plums. This time next year the first blossom should be showing!

For more information about the project, including the newsletter and forthcoming events, please visit www.bishopthorpe.net. To contact the project please email bishorchard@yahoo.com or phone 07563 798408.

You can read the June Newsletter here

 

Bishopthorpe Sub-Post Office

The Bishopthorpe Sub-Post Office will close on 15 July 2019 when Supernews on Sim Balk Lane changes hands to the new owners.
It’s believed that the PO business will transfer to the new owners but there will be a (hopefully very short) period without a service.
Details are in the link below.
https://www.postofficeviews.co.uk/national-consultation-team/bishopthorpe-yo23-2qq-376349/

Active Adventures for under-5s in Bishopthorpe

Banish the Monday blues by racing unicorns, flying to the moon or joining the circus!

‘Magical Adventures’ is an active adventure class for 13 month – 4 year olds taking place at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Bishopthorpe on Monday mornings at 10am.

Jump on board the ‘Magical Adventures train’ for a different adventure destination every week, incorporating sensory activities, dance, music, imaginary play and structured games.

Separate classes at 10.50am for 3 – 4 year olds give them the opportunity to build their confidence and independence in a more challenging class, whilst still having lots of fun!

Sam Squirrel, the ‘Magical Adventures’ train driver mascot looks forward to welcoming you to a class very soon! For more information please visit www.magicaladventures.co.uk or email
lyndsay@magicaladventures.co.uk

Photo by www.joyphotography.org.uk
Photo by www.joyphotography.org.uk

 

 

Village Gala

Don’t forget that Saturday 15th June is Village Gala Day in the Palace grounds, midday to 4pm.
Lots of stalls with music, dancing, magic, crafts, food and drink, and more.
A lovely family day out.
£2 for adults, free for children under 12 accompanied by an adult.

Rag Rugging – Recycling with Panache

Ebor Ruggers are The York Rag Rugging Group, running since 1995 and now meeting every month in St Andrew’s Church Hall in Bishopthorpe.

Now elevated to an art form, subtle and stylish, colourful and cheerful, the humble rag rug that used to cover earth floors carries recycling into the 21st century. Upcycled into wall hangings and many other decorative and useful items, the end product is as exciting as the creative imagination that inspires it.
We are a friendly and welcoming group, of varying abilities. We meet on the first Saturday of each month in Bishopthorpe and would love to see you whether you are a beginner or have experience.

Take a look at our website www.eborruggers.com or check out our Facebook page – Ebor Ruggers – for more details.

You can get in touch with us at eborruggersinfo@gmail.com

 

Bishopthorpe Bowling Club – Free Taster Sessions

Bowl For Free And Make New Friends At Bishopthorpe Bowling Club

Bishopthorpe Bowling Club would like to invite you to try this engaging, tactical and fun sport. Enjoy gentle exercise in the fresh air, friendly competition and great company at your local bowling club.
Free Taster Sessions
Free introductory sessions, lasting around 2 hours, are now available every Tuesday morning during the season. Come along for 9.45am at the Green on Acaster Lane. If you would prefer to have a go at some other time, this can be arranged.
No Equipment Needed
Bowls and shoes are available to borrow (although you may prefer to wear your own very flat-soled shoes).
For more information please phone Sue or Martin on 01904 702708, e-mail bishbowls@btinternet.com or see our website at www.bishopthorpe-bc.co.uk

Charity Dog Walk on the Knavesmire

7th Charity Fundraising Dog Walk on the Knavesmire, Sunday 5 May 2019, 11am

Ready to go!

For the last six years York charity organisation ‘Keep your pet’ (KYP) has organised a fundraising dog walk on the Knavesmire, & this is now a firm fixture in dog-owners’ diaries.   Last year’s event was selected as one of the Lord Mayor’s charities & attracted record numbers, with nearly 150 dogs & owners taking part.   The event raised almost £2,000, which was divided between the three Lord Mayor’s charities.

Jonathan Cowap of BBC Radio York, famous for his irrepressible enthusiasm, will again be Master of Ceremonies.  Jonathan has been a keen supporter of KYP since its launch in 2012 & his help has been invaluable.   As in previous years Jonathan, who has no dog of his own, will walk a dog called Henry, with whom he has become firm friends.

There will be cakes, savouries & hot drinks on sale, stalls selling books, crafts & toys, competitions including ‘waggiest tail’, ‘sit for a sausage’ & ‘dog most like their owner’, a dog agility course for all comers, spot prizes, a tombola, & live music provided by local group ‘Dynamics’.

Jonathan with Henry

Chair of KYP  Keith Martin said:

“This is our major event of the year & we rely on it to raise funds for our work.   It is always an enjoyable day, with a lovely atmosphere & all the dogs behave impeccably.  Numbers are growing year by year & our supporters travel from a wide area.”

Walkers can register from 10.15 and there will be events taking place from then until the start at 11am. Entry fee £5.00 per dog or family. The entrance is from Knavesmire Road, near the Racecourse buildings (YO23 1EX).   Walkers can do any distance they wish and will be given a completion certificate.

 

 

 

 

 

If you’d like to know more about Keep Your Pet, visit the website www.keepyourpet.co.uk or download the KYP poster here. Also take a look at the Purple Pages entry in the Bishopthorpe.net directory here.

Easter Bus Services

Bishopthorpe buses for Easter 2019 – Good Friday to Easter Monday:

Service 11 will operate on Easter Saturday only.

Service 500 (our normal Sunday service) will run on the other holiday days.

Park & Ride services will operate their normal timetable.

Note that Service 21 does not operate on Sundays or Sunday timetable days.