Comments on: Club, pub, boathouse: Marygate and the riverside http://yorkstories.co.uk/club-pub-boathouse-planning-applications-marygate-and-riverside/ A resident's record of York and its changes Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:45:53 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 By: Jo Acomb http://yorkstories.co.uk/club-pub-boathouse-planning-applications-marygate-and-riverside/#comment-674381 Sun, 22 Jul 2018 00:17:44 +0000 http://yorkstories.co.uk/?p=13518#comment-674381 I was at Queen Anne’s Grammar School, leaving in 1985, and remember the old Boathouse. The canoe club rings a vague bell but that might be because a teacher, Mr Whitehead, canoed to school when the river (and the hockey pitches) flooded.

Re the Bay Horse, it’s about to become Roots, a restaurant being opened by Tommy Banks from the Black Swan, Oldstead. That has to be a positive as it has been a sad building for a while.

]]> By: david Bower http://yorkstories.co.uk/club-pub-boathouse-planning-applications-marygate-and-riverside/#comment-672104 Tue, 16 Jan 2018 10:16:32 +0000 http://yorkstories.co.uk/?p=13518#comment-672104 Interesting and sad to hear about more uncertainty surrounding the Bay Horse Marygate. This pub holds many fond memories for me. My late father drank there when it was run by Eve and Arthur Briggs who were Landlord and Landlady for many years. My first visit to the pub took place in about about 1968 when I was 13. At this time there was a huge interest in the electric car racing sets, Scalextric. It was the must have present for most boys, even being more popular than train sets for a time.
Adults were also fascinated, and soon formed clubs, built huge racetracks, and hand built cars from brass and aluminium. A huge market formed for parts to build these cars, which were much faster than the ready made Scalextric plastic cars. Clubs sprung up all over the country, and race evenings took place, and clubs visited each other. There were 3 such clubs in York at this time. Stonegate Raceway, which was located in the property that became the Old World club. There was also a club and large racetrack at RAF Linton upon Ouse. The third club was located in a large first floor function room that ran the full length of the Bay Horse Marygate. The club was called ‘The White Rose Model Car Racing Association’ Meetings took place primarily on Friday evenings between about 6.30 – 9.00pm. My father became a member, and after a while took me and I joined. These evenings were very well attended, with members of all ages. The track was of 8 lanes and was fully scenic, with gradients, buildings and trees. Members arrived with wooden carrying cases containing up to about 20 cars. Unfortunately like most fads, after a year or so interest wained and membership dwindled. Eventually the club folded, although I know the track remained for several years afterwards. Both Stonegate Raceway, and the Linton on Ouse clubs closed at around the same time (About 1970).
It was also at the Bay Horse I had my first alchoholic drink when I started Art School, then located in Exhibition Square, although like most of my partners in crime, I was only 16! The Bay Horse became the haunt of choice for Art students, and some memorable end of term bash’s took place there in the early seventies.
I would be very interested to hear if anyone else remembers, or was involved with the model car club that formed an unusual and fascinating part of the Bay Horse’s history.

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