Comments on: Leeman Road demolitions: sentimental version

By: Nick

Nick — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:24:03 +0000

I was born in York (In Naburn to be accurate) but left aged 10 and have now lived outside the uk for 17 years. It’s sad to hear that those Buildings have been lost. It still makes me mad to see what a mess the NRM made of the loco shed. The building itself was as much an exhibit as the rolling stock in it. Now it looks like a typical out of town shopping centre the wouldn’t look out of place on Clifton Moor. For a city which should know the value of heritage more than most, too much has been allowed to change in my 50 years. The old goods depot opposite the loco is now practically the only building on Leeman road that my grandfather who died in 1969 would recognise.

By: YorkStories

YorkStories — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:11:31 +0000

This page I was quite worried about (concerned that it was too sentimental/self-indulgent/personal) has been greatly enhanced and indeed made special by your comments, thank you.

Great to hear from someone with personal experience of metal fettling - thank you Stephen :)

Mallory, thanks for your evocative memories of visiting this place. The digital/ephemeral question is something I’ve drafted a page on some time back, in relation to this site, so more on that story later perhaps …

Andy - interesting that you mention the ‘plenty more like it’ argument. I keep hearing this given as justification for the destruction of buildings which are not of national significance. They are of course often of great significance locally. The Local List (www.yorklocallist.org.uk) was supposed to help protect unlisted heritage assets like these, but hasn’t yet been adopted, and every year more of the buildings on the draft version are demolished.

By: Andy Tuckwell

Andy Tuckwell — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 18:53:42 +0000

Lisa, you’re right and you put it so well. York seems to under-appreciate its C19th heritage so much. The medieval to C18th buildings are astounding and special of course, but the later stuff suffers - it’s as if there is no urgent need to protect any one street or building while there are ‘plenty more like it’ - until there aren’t!
(A perfect example is the boatyard project - one of those precious, pleasant little corners which doesn’t need tidying up or remodelling.)

By: Mallory

Mallory — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 09:31:14 +0000

Memory provoking words… My family were all railway employed, my parents met while both worked for the railway, and they relocated to York as my father pursued his career.

I remember at 16/17 calling into those yards with my school friend, picking something up from his father, been slightly in awe of the ‘manly’ environment, the metal, grease and oil, vans full of grubby, dirty men returning from a days work on the tracks somewhere, pools of rainwater in the concrete yard, all with a sheen of surface oil…

and now? now we promote York as a ‘digital city’. An ‘industry’ whose product is ephmeral, often pointless (i know, i work in it…) and leaves no lasting legacy.

I’d be proud to be creating websites for local industry, to help promote York in a worldwide market, but we don’t value these skills anymore, we don’t promote them, instead we wipe clean the legacy of these industries from our environment, we gentrify the streets for the ‘tourist industry’, we strive to make York a pretty place to visit.

I’d rather we tried to create product of lasting value, created the opportunity for people to have worthwhile work, work that they could be proud of.

By: stephen

stephen — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 06:56:05 +0000

“Fettling”,the filing of rough brass or cast iron castings,to eliminate sharp obtrusive lumps,and sometimes prepare the metal for paint spraying.
It was my first year job as apprentice at Cooke,
Troughton and Simms in 1946,fettling(with steel files),all rough brass castings,ready to paint,and by jove it was hard on my Grammar School hands!Skin worn thro’,and covered in plasters.
You would have made a good skilled lady at the carriage works,with your ability to hit the ‘nail on the head’.

Your words laud all that was best in Yorks industrial working past,sometimes forgotten or ignored,by the current powers that be,but thoroughly appreciated by this once ‘Working Class York Lad’.