1960s/1970s York photos, on YouTube

Had to share this, uploaded to YouTube by Teddyboy53Rocker, who also contributed the brilliant film of bikers riding round York in the 1960s.

This is a short film of still shots – a slideshow: ‘Vintage Volkswagens on the streets of York’. I know, it doesn’t sound exciting, unless you’re a vintage VW enthusiast. But this is definitely worth a look if you like old photos of ‘real York’, if you’re interested in the way the city has changed, and particularly if you remember York in the 1960s/70s.

28 Nov, update: List below of locations – some of these weren’t immediately obvious. Thanks to Mallory, Jim, A, and Google street view for assistance in finding them.

Credit for the list below, me: www.yorkstories.co.uk.

0.01 Acomb Court
0.03 Aldwark, across car park of Hilary House (Google Street View)
0.06 Bar Lane/Micklegate
0.08 Beckfield Lane, Acomb
0.11 Blake St
0.15 Blake St (shop advertising Cigarettes, right, now McDonalds)
0.18 Blake St (same stretch, ?different date?)
0.20 Blossom St
0.23 Car park, now site of Coppergate Centre
0.27 Clarence St
0.30 Castle Howard Ox, Townend St
0.33 Clarence St, St John’s side
0.35 Duncombe Place
0.39 Blossom St end, East Mount Rd on right
0.41 East Parade, Heworth
0.44 Exhibition Sq
0.47 Fulford Rd, entrance to St Oswald’s Rd on left
0.50 Gillygate (back of nos. 29-37), from Bootham Row car park
0.52 Goodramgate (Ogleforth corner)
0.56 Hayley’s Terrace (nr Yearsley Baths)
0.59 King’s Staith
1.02 Cumberland St, looking towards River Ouse
1.04 King’s Staith/Cumberland St
1.07 Micklegate
1.11 Micklegate – lovely view
1.14 Milner St, Acomb (corner with School St)
1.17 Ogleforth
1.19 Parliament St from St Sampson’s Square
1.22 Parliament St, (gents loos, before ‘Splash Palace’)
1.25 Patrick Pool, off Church St
1.28 Monkgate end of Penley Grove St
1.31 Monkgate end of Penley Grove St, with WMC
1.34 as above
1.37 Car park by ABC cinema, Piccadilly
1.40 Presumably as above, ?Ryedale House Piccadilly on right
1.43 Queen St, car park nr station
1.47 Skeldergate
1.49 Spen Lane
1.52 St Sampson’s Square
1.55 Station from bar walls
1.58 car park behind station (Leeman Rd)
2.01 car park behind station
2.03 Stonegate
2.06 Tower St
2.09 YWCA, Water Lane, Clifton (since demolished)
2.12 York Rd, Acomb

The photographer, while focussing on cars and vans, accidentally captured ordinary corners in the ordinary streets so many of us grew up in and knew. Including a tree I climbed as a child, which was chopped down years ago. Thank you, VW photographer and Teddyboy53Rocker.

About Lisa @YorkStories

Lisa @YorkStories is the creator, administrator, and writer of content on www.yorkstories.co.uk. She can be contacted on this link or via Twitter, @YorkStories
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11 comments

  1. pored over these, might throw them at my folks.. but the 2.09 one: that big building is the old YMCA building at bottom of Kings Way North, looking East.. if you followed the road to the right it would curve round to Clifton Green…

  2. YorkStories

    Fantastic! Just what I thought. Was going through the ones I wasn’t sure about, realised church spire is St Philip & St James, Clifton. But couldn’t work out what the massive hulking building was. Then it clicked – YMCA (or was it a YWCA, if I recall) building. Demolished now of course. Remember going there many times, had a friend who lived there, circa 1986.

    Amazing the number of places/scenes captured on these photos that no one would have thought to take a photo of, if they hadn’t been recording parked vehicles. I love it :)

    Thanks Mallory, have added to list above.

  3. when blowing these images full screen i have a near overpowering urge to pan left / right, zoom in and out or drop into ’street view’.. google maps has spoiled me..

  4. YorkStories

    :) I did have to rely on Google maps to help with a few I wasn’t sure about. Though also have to say, thank goodness (thank god?) for churches, as several of these would be baffling without a spire or some other bit of a church as a landmark. So many other buildings have changed. That Aldwark view – will put the Street View link in above on the list – is a good example. Doors taken out, archways blocked up.

    Don’t think there’s much hope of identifying most of the remaining ones, particularly the ‘corner shop in a terraced street’ – unlikely it’s a corner shop, they’ve nearly all gone.

    The remaining ones, assuming I’ve got the others right, are at 0.50, 0.52, 1.14, 1.17, 1.40.

  5. the 1.40 car park, apart from it feeling like somewhere my dad parked in 1970, the top right of photo is distinctive, 60s block. not distinctive enough for me to recognise it though…

  6. 1.17 is Ogleforth, I’m sure but i’ll check

  7. Yes Ogleforth and apologies my last email address had a dot in it

  8. YorkStories

    It was pointed out to me (I hadn’t noticed, even though I compiled the list) that the images are in alphabetical order … which meant the field was conveniently narrowed re the remaining few.

    Gaps/queries now filled. Thanks Jim and Mallory and the ‘alphabetically observant’ person :)

  9. I was born in York in 1965 and left in 1971. Thanks very much for this

  10. Born and raised on Holgate area, sadly no photos of the area..

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