Comments on: Demolition of nurses’ accommodation, Bootham Park

By: Judith B

Judith B — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 22:44:33 +0000

I lived in the flats in 1984-86, as a student nurse. They were light bright warm and fit for purpose with lovely outdoor areas, laundry room and communal sitting rooms for great parties. A short walk to the hospital and the town. I moved out for my 3rd year but have such good memories of my time there.

By: Elaine Roberts

Elaine Roberts — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 16:12:14 +0000

That should say ISN’T that old for a building.

By: Elaine Roberts

Elaine Roberts — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 16:10:54 +0000

Very sad! They were brand spanking new when I lived there. From 1978 to 1981. They were lovely flats for nurses (and for Doctors and their families as well). Not only was it subsidised and walking distance from the hospital but we had great parties in the common rooms on the ground floor. And that was when the design fault with the “quadrangle” of flats was discovered – the noise bounced off the walls round the quadrangle and kept everyone awake. Simple solution – get up and just go to the party! Ear plugs were handy as well. We were on the top floor and had an amazing view across York. My main memory is of the fire alarms going off when people came in late and made toast. The smoke detectors were over sensitive. Each time it was set off the fire brigade had to come out and we all had to evacuate the building until it had been checked – usually in the middle of the night and sometimes twice in one night! But such a shame! The 1970s is that old for accommodation. How sad nurses no longer live together when training. I hope they build something just as nice there.

By: Helen Farquharson

Helen Farquharson — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 07:57:29 +0000

I lived there whilst training to be a nurse- now retired! I have such happy memories of the flat- my fellow flat mates are still good friends ! We were the first batch of students to live there in 1977 and it was all spanking brand new! We loved it- subsidised accommodation next to the hospital and a short walk from the pubs! Wonderful memories- I was sad to hear of it’s demise.

By: Andy Longstaff

Andy Longstaff — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 15:10:20 +0000

I trained as a Staff Nurse at York District Hospital 30 years ago and have very happy memories of living in Flat D24 alongside 3 other student nurses. The flats were an amazing first home and integral to our life at YDH during our training. I work for the hospital now and it’s strange to see the site of the flats no longer in existence. I agree they were no architectural feast upon the eyes, but they were home to many thousands of student nurses over the years. Happy times. I have no photos of the nurses flats from my time there… wish I had… it’s a void in my memory! Please fee free to email any photos of the before, during and after… a trip down memory lane!

By: YorkStories

YorkStories — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 22:54:03 +0000

That is a brilliant idea, Jenny. Since the demolition the whole area has been surrounded by temporary fencing, partly I guess because the contractors doing work on the adjacent Union Terrace have needed some of it, and there’s car park on some of it, but the rest is just weedy nothingness punctuated by trees. Somewhere in the middle is a rose bush I noticed was blooming beautifully this summer but no one could smell it as the fences kept us out. A complete waste of a large area of land. Hope you can get it back into useful life as you suggest, email me via the contact link if you think I can help.