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John Thomas Swales was born in 1869 and appears to have taken over the family buthers business in 1896. John Thomas became a Methodist Lay Preacher, an influential member of local trade organisations, and was nominated for a vacancy on the Board of Guardians in 1907. He married Ada Plummer in 1897, and some information on their two children, Hilda Mary (who later became an American citizen) and Thomas, (who carried on the family profession of a Butcher).
See Also - Allen; Oswald (1767-?)

Founded in 1955 to represent local guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers and their members.

Founded as a conservation group to protect and rejuventate the area of Heworth Holme on the east side of the City of York. The group was disbanded in 2016, and responsibility for Heworth Holme was transferred to the Friends of St Nicholas Fields.

FAMILY
Richard Chicken was born in York on 06 August 1799, the only son of Nicholas Chicken of County Durham and Elizabeth Huddleston of Pocklington. Nicholas Chicken rose to some prominence in the City of York, becoming Surveyor of Taxes in 1805.

Richard Chicken married Louisa, daughter of John Alexander of Doncaster, although their date of marriage is unknown. They had 12 children together although only five survived to adulthood. Scarlet Fever was the cause of death of at least six of the seven children who died in infancy. Although Louisa Chicken appears to have been with Richard at his death, she had separated from her husband in 1862, and at the time of his death was living with her daughter in Leeds.

CAREER
As a youth, Richard attended the Bingley Grammar School and then was placed, according to the wishes of his deceased father, in a clerkship at the Ecclesiastical Courts in York. He remained there until at least 1819, before embarking on his preferred career as an itinerant actor, which included appearances at the Theatre Royal in York. However, citing the excessive mental and physical demands of the profession, Chicken left acting and reinvented himself again as a teacher of elocution, establishing a school first in Clementhorpe and then in 26 St Mary's Row Bishophill, just opposite the Golden Ball.

Richard's school did not prove a lasting success, and several times over the course of the early 1840s he was forced to apply for relief from the York Poor Law Union. By the late 1840s he had found a position as a railway clerk in the office of John Cass Birkinshaw in Micklegate. Birkenshaw was a colleague of Alfred Dickens, the younger brother of Charles Dickens, who visited York in 1847 when Chicken was still employed at Birkenshaw's office. It is possible that during this time, Charles Dickens either met, or heard of Chicken, who had a reputation for eccentric behaviour and idiosyncratic turns of phrase. Consequently, there is some evidence to suggest that Charles Dickens may have used Chicken as the model for the character of Mr Micawber from David Copperfield.

Following the closure of Birkenshaw's York office in 1852 Chicken found employment again as a clerk, this time with the York and North Midland Railway. However he was dismissed from this post two years later, and despite gaining some temporary employment he became increasingly impoverished and was forced to apply for poor relief once again in the late 1850s. By 1865 he had been admitted to the York Union Workhouse and died there on 22 January 1866. He is buried in York Cemetery.

Founded 1836, at a meeting of full council on 8th February 1836 "for managing the property and finances of the Corporation". Before this time the General Committee covered financial matters. The committee name was changed in 1960 to better reflect its wider function.
Function carried out previously within the General Committee. Changed name to Finance and General Purposes Committee in 1960

Clifton was originally mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, with Count Alan, St Peter's School, the Archbishop of York and the Canons of York Minster all holding land there. A manor worth 20 shillings is also mentioned. Parts of the township of Clifton eventually fell into three manors - Clifton, Acomb with Holgate & Clifton, and Strensall.

Tha Manor of Clifton was given to St Mary's Abbey soon after 1088, a gift from the King, William Rufus. It remained in the Abbey's hands until the Dissolution, when the Crown took it over. The Manor was was presumably leased out by the Crown to individuals and in 1606 it was leased to the Robinson family who kept it for the next 300 years or so.

The Robinsons were already a substantial merchant family in York and their subsequent purchases and inheritance took them into the ranks of the county families. Sir Thomas Robinson was created Baron Grantham in 1761 and in 1833 Thomas Philip Robinson succeeded his aunt as Earl de Grey. For several generations the Robinsons took an active part in civic affairs as Aldermen, Lord Mayors and MPs.

The City purchased the manor in 1919 from Lady Lucas and Lady Alwyne Compton Vyner, joint Ladies of the Manor and descendants of the Robinson family.

Clifton Manor also had a manor court. Although the papers are headed 'Court Leet', only a part of the full normal manorial court business is conducted within them. Transfer of property does not appear, for example, but list of tenants and suitors are given, from which a jury is chosen and Affearers (officers appointed by a manorial court to assess the penalties for proven offences), Byelawmen, Constables, Overseers and a Pinder are all chosen as the manorial officers.

People were fined for not appearing before the Manor Court if they didn't have a good excuse. Those summoned to the court included women if they held property subject to manorial rights.

The jury laid pains (i.e. made byelaws) and those for Clifton were entirely to do with the free running of watercourses. The jury later made presentments and apportioned fines.

The Manor Court meetings used to end with a dinner paid for by the Lord of the Manor.

Rural Action Yorkshire (RAY) was established as the independent organisation Yorkshire Rural Community Council in 1937. In May 2009 it changed its name to Rural Action Yorkshire. The organisation works with villages and smaller rural communities throughout North, West and South Yorkshire to help improve the quality of life of the people who live and work there.

Rural Action Yorkshire's aims are the enabling and empowering communities to develop their confidence to help themselves, and to ensure their needs are heard by policy makers and service providers - locally, regionally and nationally.

RAY is a membership organisation, and members can access a full range of support, including keeping up to date on new legislation and licensing laws, and information about RAY events, projects and training. Most members are from village halls, parish councils and other organisations invested in making Yorkshire an even greater place to be.

Charles Anderson was a member of staff of the Midland Bank in York, and also a member of the wider Anderson family who operated as tailors in the city. He also rented out property in a personal capacity

Bellerby's Decorators was a business located in Petergate, York, owned by the Bellerby family. The business was founded in around 1914, and specialised in painting and decorating services to private and business customers. Their commissions included the gold leafing in both York Minster and All Saints' Church, the renovation of Fairfax House, and work on the Sultan of Oman's palace in the 1980s.

The business was wound-up in 1988 when Derek Bellerby retired.

The York and District Autistic Society was founded in 1987 at the instigation of parents of autistic children in the York area. The Society raised awareness of autism, and brought together families and medical professionals to review provision in York.

The Society campaigned locally, and held a charity screening of Rain Man in York in 1989.

The Society was eventually subsumed into the National Autistic Society in 1992, becoming part of their northern region.

A major report on services and policies for childcare and equal opportunities in the United Kingdom was published in 1988. The report highlighted the inadequacies in policies and policy co-ordination. Following its publication, a group of parents in York began to make a determined effort to bring the issues from the report into the public arena.

York Childcare Ltd was formed in 1990 out of this group, to provide childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. It is a non profit registered charity with the aim of providing quality childcare for families in York and is run by a committee of voluntary Trustees. The out of school management service manages clubs across the city providing breakfast, after school and holiday clubs for children aged 16 months - 12 years.

William Giles was born in around 1845, and spent his entire working life associated with York Corporation. He began his working career as a clerk with Joseph Wilkinson of the firm Leeman, Wilkinson and Badger, who performed the work of the Corporation before the appointment of a full time Town Clerk.

In the 1890s Giles gathered together a list of all the historical records of the Corporation, which formed the core of the current City of York Council archive collections. He also had responsibility for making arrangements for municipal elections, and often presided over the principal centre of Micklegate Ward.

He was appointed Deputy Town Clerk of York Coporation in 1886, and held that position until his death in 1923. Outside of his working hours, he was a keen historian and regularly wrote articles on 'Ancient York' for the Yorkshire Herald.

Giles was married and had one son and four daughters, although his wife predeceased him. He was very fond of shooting, but was known for very rarely taking a holiday lasting more than one day at a time.

He died at his home at 15 Park Place, Huntington Road, on 10 April 1923, following an attack of illness in the street. He was 78 years old.

The Finance Committee was renamed the Finance and General Purpose Committee in 1960.

Bootham Bowling Club was formed in 1912 as the Minster Bowling Club, wih headquarters at the Minster Inn, Marygate, York, and playing on the Municipal Green in Marygate. The club joined the local league in 1913 and changed its name to Bootham and District Bowling Club.

Gradually the club assumed a prominent part in local events and in addition to winning all local and many County honours the club won the Yorkshire County Club Championship in 1950 and brought the 'Marshall Shield' to York for the first time.

In the late 1940s the President, A A Keech, provided the club with a new private green at Sycamore Place. This Cumberland Turf Green was officially opened in 1949, and at the same time the club name changed to Bootham Bowls Club.

The first reference to a Butchers' Guild structure in York appears in the Freemen's Rolls of 1272, with thirty-six names that include two citizens, Robert Withenskirtes and Nich. de Nunnewk, registered as Freemen Butchers. However, there must have been Freemen before that date as Nicholas of Clifton claimed his Freedom by patrimony.

Guild organisation and control were by co-operative agreement between the leading members and the burgesses of the city. Any regulations agreed were incorporated in the Ordinances of the Guild, and enforced by the Searchers of the Company. The Butchers' Gild held sway in matters of hygiene, weights and measures, meat restricted days and fast periods, and over 'foreign' (i.e. non-guild) butchers. The Gild Searchers operated as overseers for the good of the trade with powers of search of shops and stalls, of imposition of fines and of application of correction and punishment.

Standards of workmanship were protected through the apprenticeship system. In London (1556) the authorities decided that:
'Until a man grows unto the age of 24 he has not grown into the full knowledge of the art that he professeth.'

Seven years was generally agreed as the minimum period of training and servitude before the apprentice became a 'freeman to ply his trade'. Apprentice registration was controlled so that children of freemen had priority of admission to the learning of a craft. Guild Masters were responsible for the Indenture and for the entry of apprentices in the City's Register, following one month's probationary period.

Trades would tend to congregate their shops in one area of a town or city. The Shambles in York is well known as the butchers' street, but the trade area also extended over St. Andrewgate and St. Saviourgate.The Butchers may well have been responsible for a civic duty – that is, to act as the City executioners.

The York Butchers' own hall lay behind The Shambles in Gell Garth, an area now occupied by York market. This property was owned by the Gild until 1929 and the last remnants cleared away in the 1950's. Their traditional church was Christ Church, at the west end of The Shambles, where they were responsible for a chapel. The church was demolished in 1937 to form what is now King's Square. It is believed that the execution sword was housed in the church.

In York, the Mystery Plays were a most important part of the life of the craft guilds., under the control of the Corpus Christi Guild. These plays were performed on a procession of pageants at various stations throughout the city, on the Feast of Corpus Christi. The Butchers enacted 'The Death of Christ', reflecting their role as executioners.

The guilds had voting rights in the elections for Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff. The Butchers, considered as one of the lower fifteen guilds, contributed one voting member, usually the Senior Searcher.

There were 96 craft guilds in York in 1415, at the peak of guild control of trade and civic life. By the late 16th century, guild numbers dropped as specialisation in crafts was ending and some mergers occurred, as 'foreign' (i.e. outside the city) traders were allowed within and as monopoly was curtailed in law. Although records indicate that the Butchers' Gild appointed three searchers in 1826, the 1835 Municipal Reform Act finally abolished all guild trade privileges [1]. In York, guilds withered and nearly all passed away except for two with property. These, The Merchant Adventurers and The Merchant Taylors, converted into social and charitable institutions. A third, the Butchers, struggled on into the 20th century, with just a single member by 1940.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Butchers' Gild membership fell - from thirty or forty in 1812 to just two in 1929, and just one remaining by 1940. In 1929, the City Authorities purchased the Gell Garth site for £932 and the records and Ordinances of the Company were passed into the hands of the Corporation for preservation in the City archives.

In 1940, Mr. F. Wright, butcher of Goodramgate, York, and Mr. C. N. B. Crombie, solicitor of York, persuaded the last remaining member to swear in new members. As a result, the present Gild is able to claim continuous membership from its mediaeval roots. The first Court of the modern Gild was held in 1940 at the Hermitage, Stockton on the Forest, the first Feast was held in the Davy Hall, Davygate on Shrove Tuesday, 1941 and the first new-era Master took office in 1943.

Membership has gradually grown since that date, but with the slow decline in numbers of craft butchers, the Gild now draws its members from a wider geographical area than the City of York and now includes the County of York, neighbouring counties in the North of England, and from further afield, so long as the member is able to commit to guild life and functions. The Company considers that its membership should retain strong links with the craft of butchery or the meat trade.

The City Council was able, in 1950, to provide The Gild with a suitable hall, appropriately in The Shambles. However, in 1991, the authorities looked for a 'commercial rent'. The Gild was unable to match the sum proposed and moved out (although the doorway in the Shambles is still carved with the name 'Butchers Hall'). The Gild was fortunate in being able to move into, and furnish, the recently renovated ‘Jacobs Well’ in Trinity Lane, Micklegate.

In common with all the other York guilds, the Company now worships in All Saints’ Church, Pavement.

The Charitable Trust was properly constituted in 1992.

During the late 1990’s, the Gild debated and accepted the notion of the entry of Lady Members. (History indicates that this was always acceptable and was particularly applied when a widow continued the running of a business after the loss of her husband). The first three ladies in the modern era were admitted to the Company on Shrove Tuesday, 2002.

Today, the membership extends to over one hundred persons.

York Inset Scooter Club was formed in 2003 by a group of individuals with a common interest in scooters and scootering. It is always on the look out for new members and meets in Heworth every Tuesday night.

The club also does ride-outs throughout the year, often for charity fundraising, multi-club meets and entourage at events.

The club supports many charitable causes, including the York Normandy Veterans, who are honorary members of the club.

My Future York is a project originally funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Connected Communities programme. The aim was to explore how active exploration of the city's past could open up greater participation in local democratic decision-making about the future.

As part of this oral histories were conducted with people involved in public engagement with planning in the late 20th century. Local people were also invited to imagine the future of the city in ten year's time.

The project was a partnership between York Past and Present, York Environmental Forum, University of Leeds and Explore York Libraries and Archives.

Clifford J. Grant was proprietor of the old-established York jewellers, W. Grant & Son, Spurriergate. He had 40 years in the jewellery business which he took over from his father. Outside business, he was a founder-member of York Round Table and also of the 41 club. He was chairman of the York Round Table between 1959 and 1961. In the late 1950s he produced shows for the Monkgate Methodist Dramatic Society.

He died in 1961, aged 56, leaving his wife Brenda.

Geoffrey Handley-Taylor was born on 25 April 1920 in Horsforth, Leeds, the son of Walter Edward Taylor and his wife Nellie. He was educated at Wyther Park School, Leeds.

He was an author, bibliographer, and Honorary Home and Overseas Information correspondent for John Masefield Research and Studies (1958-1993). Based in York, he spent his working life as a journalist for the Yorkshire Evening Post, and also served with the Duke of Wellington's Regiment and at the War Office during the Second World War.

His books included 'Mona Ingleby, Ballerina and Choreographer' (1947); 'Winifred Holtby Bibliography and Selected Letters'; 'John Masefield, OM, The Queen's Poet Laureate' (1960) biography; 'Bibliography of Monaco'; 'Bibliography of Iran'; and 'Selected Bibliography of Literature Relating to Nursey Rhyme Reform' (which ran to many editions). He also rewrote and revised the periodicals section of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1960s), and wrote 'Italian Ballet Today' (1949); 'John Gay and the Ballad Opera'; 'The Book of the Private Press'; 'Selected Letters of Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain, 1920-35' (1961); 'C.Day Lewis, Poet Laureate' (1968); 'Vera Brittain: Occasional Papers' (1983); and 'Kathleen: the life of Kathleen Ferrier 1912-53'
(1988).

In 1950 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and also held posts as Chairman of the British Poetry-Drama Guild (1946-1952), Vice-President of the Leeds University Tudor Players (1948-1950), Publisher at Leeds University Poetry (1949), Founder of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Collection at Fisk University, Nashville (1955), Honorary General Secretary of the Dumas Association (1955-1957), Chairman of the General Council of the Poetry Society (1967-1968), member of the General Council of the National Book League (1968), President of the Lancashire Authors Association (1969-1972), trustee of the Gladstone Memorial Library, London (1974-1978), join Literary Trustee of the Estate of Vera Brittain (1979-1990) and Honorary Founder Member of the John Masefield Society (1993-1997).

He died on 27 May 2005, aged 85.

Formed in 1894 along with the York, Escrick and Flaxton Out-Relief Unions. All four out-relief unions were attached to the York Union, otherwise known as the Joint York Union.
Jointly administered with the Bishopthorpe Rural District Council; part of the Joint York Union

Rural districts were established in 1894, along with urban districts, to replace the earlier system of sanitary districts. In York, the Flaxton, Bishopthorpe and Escrick Rural District Councils were abolished in 1974 and merged with urban districts and boroughs to form district councils.
Jointly administered the Bishopthorpe Out-Relief Union until 1930.

Appointed by a meeting of full council on 22nd Feb 1805. It is unclear without further research whether the gaps in the records represent lost volumes or inactivity. The Finance Commmittee established in 1836 may have been its indirect successor.
The Finance Commmittee established in 1836 may have been it's indirect successor.

Under the Local Government Act of 1929 the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law which had previously 30)been the remit of the York Poor Law Union (1837-1930). Some committees, including the Boarding-Out and Children's Committees, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.
Formed as a sub-committee of the York Union Workhouse Committee. Replaced the Boarding-Out Committee (1902-1906) then replaced by the Boarding Out Committee when this committee was reinstated in May 1910.

On its reformation in 1910 it became one of the standing committees of the York Poor Law Union. Under the Local Government Act of 1929 the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law which had previously been the remit of the York Poor Law Union (1837-1930). Some committees, including the Boarding-Out and Children's Committees, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.
Replaced by the Children's Committee (1906-1910) then reinstated again in 1910 to replace the Children's Committee. In 1930 the Boarding-Out Committee became a sub-committee of the Public Assistance Committee (1929-1948).

Under the Local Government Act of 1929, the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law which had previously been the remit of the York Poor Law Union (1837-1930). Some committees, including the Boarding-Out and Children's Committees, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.
Prior to 1930 this committee formed part of the York Poor Law Union. In 1930 it became one of the sub-committees of the Public Assistance Committee (1929-1948). The Boarding-Out Committee underwent the following name changes: Boarding-Out Committee (1930-38); Children's Committee (1938-1947); Children's and Boarding-Out Committee (1947-1948).

Under the Local Government Act of 1929 the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law which had previously been the remit of the York Poor Law Union (1837-1930). Some committees, including the Boarding-Out/Children's Committee, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.
One of the sub-committees of the Public Assistance Committee (1929-1948). The Boarding-Out Committee underwent the following name changes: Boarding-Out Committee (1930-38); Children's Committee (1938-1947); Children's and Boarding-Out Committee (1947-1948).

Under the Local Government Act of 1929 the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law which had previously been the remit of the York Poor Law Union (1837-1930). Some committees, including the Boarding-Out/Children's Committee, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.
One of the sub-committees of the Public Assistance Committee (1929-1948). The Boarding-Out Committee underwent the following name changes: Boarding-Out Committee (1930-38); Children's Committee (1938-1947); Children's and Boarding-Out Committee (1947-1948).

The York Poor Law Union (1837-1930) was abolished under the Local Government Act 1929. However the Poor Law continued as the main system of welfare until 1948 and was administered by the Public Assistance Committee (1929-1948). Some committees, including the Collecting Committee, had a continuous existence throughout this period of transition and executed similar functions under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.

Under the Local Government Act of 1929 the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law, which had previously been the remit of the York Poor Law Union (1837-1930). Some committees, including the Collecting Committee, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.
One of the sub-committees of the Public Assistance Committee (1929-1948).

Prior to the formation of this committee, each committee organised its own procurement. The Salaries Commitee suggested that a Stores Sub-committee should be setup to co-ordinate this purchasing. It first met on 24th Janurary 1921.
Name changed from Stores Committee to Stores and Purchasing Committee c. 1952.

Reported to the York Board of Guardians

Formed in 1894 along with the York, Bishopthorpe and Flaxton Out-Relief Unions. All four out-relief unions were attached to the York Union, otherwise known as the Joint York Union.
Jointly administered with the Escrick Rural District Council; part of the Joint York Union

Rural districts were established in 1894, along with urban districts, to replace the earlier system of sanitary districts. In York, the Flaxton, Bishopthorpe and Escrick Rural District Councils were created out of the York Rural Sanitary District and then abolished in 1974 when they were merged with urban districts and boroughs to form new districts.
Jointly administered the Escrick Out-Relief Union until 1930

Formed in 1894 along with the York, Bishopthorpe and Escrick Out-Relief Unions. All four out-relief unions were attached to the York Poor Law Union, otherwise known as the Joint York Union.
Jointly administered with the Flaxton Rural District Council; part of the Joint York Union

Rural districts were established in 1894, along with urban districts, to replace the earlier system of sanitary districts. In York, the Flaxton, Bishopthorpe and Escrick Rural District Councils replaced the York Rural district councils were abolished in 1974 and merged with urban districts and boroughs to form district councils.
Jointly administered the Flaxton Out-Relief Union

Reported to the Public Assistance Committee. During this period the House Visiting Committee worked concurrently with the House Committee.

Prior to the formation of this committee, each committee organised its own procurement. The Salaries Commitee suggested that a Stores Sub-committee be setup to co-ordinate this purchasing. It first met on 24th January 1921. It developed into a central purchasing unit.
Name changed from Stores Committee to Stores and Purchasing Committee c. 1952.

During its existence this Committee was responsible for the old parochial workhouse in Marygate, which from 1837-1849 served as the workhouse of the York Poor Law Union. In 1849 the Marygate workhouse was closed and replaced by the new Union workhouse on Huntington Road.
From 1837 this committee reported to the York Board of Guardians (1837-1930).

Abolished in 1872 when its functions passed to the Rural Sanitary Authority and the Urban Sanitary Authority, which were created under the Public Health Act of the same year.

The City of York was covered by three relief districts, with a Relieving Officer for each district. Each Relief Committee dealt with applications in one of the relief districts for a four-month period before moving on to the next district.

The three Relief Committees administered three separate relief districts, which covered the area of the City of York
In 1930 the Public Assistance Committee assumed responsibility for administering the Poor Law which had previously been the remit of the York Poor Law Union. Some committees, including the Relief Committees 1,2 and 3, had a continuous existence and function under both the York Poor Law Union and its successor body the Public Assistance Committee.

By the 1920s this committee comprised 18 elected members plus quarterly members (the remaining 65 Guardians were divided into 4 groups and each group sat on the committee for three months of the year). There was a changing array of sub-committees that reported directly to the Workhouse Committee, for example: the Farm and Garden Committee; Provisions and Clothing Committee; Timber Committee; Works and Repairs Committee; and Entertainment Committee.
Replaced by the Workhouse Visiting Committee (1906-1914); then reinstated in 1914 to replace the Workhouse Visiting Committee.

Reported to the Public Assistance Committee. During this period the House Committee worked concurrently with the House Visiting Committee.

The Visiting Committee appears to have been a full committee that had an intermittent life along with the Workhouse Committee (see Relationships below). After 1914 there were several visiting sub-committees which inspected various aspects of the workhouse and reported directly to the Workhouse Committee.
Replaced the Workhouse Committee (?mid-19thc-(1906); then was replaced by the Workhouse Committee, which was reinstated in 1914.

Reported to the Workhouse Committee. Replaced the Building Committee (?1890s-?1900s) which was reinstated again in 1915.

Reported to the York Board of Guardians until they were abolished by the Local Government Act 1929. Then became a sub-committee of the Public Assistance Committee, which inherited the functions of the Board of Guardians in 1929.

The first special committee looking at salaries was setup in 1918 and met until 1926 when it was replaced with a full time Salaries Committee. This committee was established to attempt to improve co-ordination and consistency with the council on staffing matters, as committees were responsible for recruiting and paying their own staff independently.
Replaced by Salaries Committee in 1926.

Established in 1906 when the guardians of the York Out-Relief Union applied and obtained a special order from the Local Government Board (later the Ministry of Health). The order gave the Board the authority to appoint three separate committees for hearing and assessing applications for out-relief. These were known as the Relief Committees Nos 1,2, and 3
Part of the York Out-Relief Union

Formed in 1894 along with the Escrick, Bishopthorpe and Flaxton Out-Relief Unions. All four out-relief unions were attached to the York Union, otherwise known as the Joint York Union.
Part of the Joint York Union

Formed in 1872 following the Public Health Act of the same year. It comprised the area of the York Poor Law Union less the York City area, which was covered by the Urban Sanitary Authority. The York Rural Sanitary Authority was administered by the country guardians of the York Union, whereas the Urban Sanitary Authority became, in effect, part of The Corporation and therefore was not administered by the city guardians.
The York Rural Sanitary Authority and Urban Sanitary Authority inherited the functions of the Nuisance Removal Committee (?1867-1872). In 1894, the area covered by York Rural Sanitary Authority became the Bishopthorpe, Flaxton and Escrick Rural District Councils following the Local Government Act of the same year. However, each Rural District Council also remained a constituent part of the York Union for poor law purposes (as an Out-Relief Union) until the 1929 reorganisation of local government.

Served the Boards of Guardians of the Yorkshire Poor Law Unions. Previously named the Yorkshire Joint Vagrancy Committee.

Cyril Deighton was a Methodist, who took an active role in his local church. He was a Sunday School teacher, and later became Superintendant. He was also an active member of the church choir.

He was elected a Trustee of his local Chapel Trust in 1939, and was appointed Treasuer in 1940. His call to the Army in the Second World War was deferred to allow him to complete his examination in Municipal Accountancy. This he passed with distinction, and was destined for a business career after his army service.

During the Second World War, he fought in Palestine and Egypt, sending many letters and photographs back to friends and family.

Cyril died on 5 June 1944 in a Military Hospital in Jersulem, following an illness.
Cyril predeceased his parents, and also had at least one sister.

The Clifton Cycling Club was founded in 1895. Its first club run was held in Spring that year. The first club event was the '50 mile record', introduced in 1896. In 1906 a 100 mile Sealed Handicap was also introduced. During the early 20th century Clifton Cycling Club also developed a very strong hill climb team.

A Ladies section of the club was founded in 1902, before ladies were admitted to full club membership in 1923. Combined club runs were held monthly.

During the Second World War Clifton Cycling Club supported the City of York Council 'Holidays at Home' scheme, which encouraged families to have holidays in their local area rather than travelling further afield. The cycling club programme consisted of Sunday afternoon bike rides for all ages.

The 60s and 70s was an era of exceptionally high achievement for the racing members of the club. Pete Smith rode the World Championship and Commonwealth Games Road Race and won the King of the Mountains Jersey in the Tour of Britain. John Watson also rode the Worlds RR and won the British Best All Rounder competition. Roy Cromack along with John and Pete made up three of the four man British team to ride the Team Time Trial at the 1968 Olympics. They were joined by Ian White and Dennis Pickard in breaking all the British Time Trialling records from 50 miles to 24 hours and winning a plethora of major team competitions.

In 2006 the Clifton CC York were ranked number 1 Road Racing team in the Yorkshire Region.

The club has published its own magazine, The Cliftonite, twice a year since 1936.

YDAA was established in 1887.

York Charity Cricket Cups have taken place since 1930, running almost continuously, with the exception of some years during World War II. The tournament was last played in 2014.

York Hoboes Rambling Club was established in 1933.

The salaries committee appears to have been instituted as a full time committee in 1926. It attempted to improve co-ordination and consistency for staffing matters, as committees were responsible for recruiting and paying their own staff independently.
Replaced the Special Salaries Committee in 1926.

LNER York Employees Amateur Swimming Club was established by June 1920. Until 1928 men's and women's sections trained and were administered separately.

In 1941 a group of young lads from a grammar school in Wakefield got together to go hill walking and to practice climbing on the local outcrops. They decided to call themselves The Junior Mountaineering Club of Yorkshire.

The membership expanded and eventually in the mid 1940s, a Constitution was drafted and an Honorary Secretary appointed. Soon afterwards the first Honorary Treasurer was appointed, with the affairs of the Club being dealt with by the members in the absence of a President or a committee.

In these early days there were many climbing expeditions to the Lake District, Wales and Scotland. Several visits to Rhum resulted in the production in 1946 of the JMCY climbing 'Guide to the Isle of Rhum'.
By 1949 the membership had grown to 21, although in subsequent years this dwindled, resulting in an attempt to recruit new members. This proved unsuccessful until late in 1951, when climbing courses were held by the Leeds branch of the Central Council of Physical Recreation. Members of the JMCY agreed to be instructors, with the trainees being encouraged to join the Club.

There followed a sudden healthy increase in membership and at the 1952 AGM it was agreed that the Club should be renamed The Yorkshire Mountaineering Club. A President was appointed along with other Officers and a committee of five was elected.
In the 1960s the Club took on the role of publishing the definitive guide books for both Yorkshire Gritstone and Yorkshire Limestone and has continued with this commitment to the present day, producing guide books that have been well accepted and supported by the climbing community.

In 1972 the club purchased four derelict dwellings from a row of miners' cottages in the Coppermines Valley, Coniston in the Lake District. After a lot of hard work and considerable commitment by club members, these were renovated and made habitable over the next year or so, to become the Club's cottage. The cottage has since given much enjoyment not only to members but also to other clubs and organisations to which it has been let out. In recent years the Club has undertaken major refurbishment and extension works, which have resulted in a modern and well equipped cottage that is much appreciated and well respected by all who use it.

In 2006 the Club changed its status and became incorporated as a Mutual Society under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965.
The Club currently has a membership of around 200 and always welcomes new members who have an interest in climbing and mountain activities.

The club was formed by 1907.

The club was formed by 1982.

The club was founded in 1938.

The Sports Council of Great Britain, of which the Yorkshire and Humberside Sports Council was a regional subdivision, was replaced by UK Sport in 1997.

YAA was established by 1960.

YABA was established by 1927.

The present club was formed in 1922 and prior to their election to Division Three North of the Football League in 1929 played in the Midland League. They remained in the Northern Section until 1958 when they became one of the original members of the Fourth Division. (During the Second World War when the League was suspended from1939 until 1946 the club operated in the various wartime competitions). Over the next 45 seasons (1958-2004) the club won promotion six times. In 1958/59 and 1964/65 they moved up to the third tier only to suffer immediate relegation. City again gained promotion in 1970/71 and in 1974 reached the Second Division (Championship) for the first and to date only time in their 91 year old history. In two seasons in the second tier of English football the club competed with Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest amongst others and in 1974/75 achieved their highest ever League placing when they finished 15th. The following campaign, however, they were relegated and by 1977 were back in the Fourth. In 1983/84 they won their first major honour when they finished runaway Fourth Division champions with 101 points becoming the first club in Football League history to reach three figures. City's last promotion success in the League was via the playoffs in 1992/93 when on the club's first ever visit to Wembley Stadium they beat Crewe Alexandra in a penalty shoot out. On the other side of the coin City suffered relegation six times and over the years had to make seven applications for re-election back to the League. In 2004 the club finished bottom of Division Three (League Two) and dropped down to the Conference bringing to an end 75 years membership of the Football League. During that time they had spent two seasons in the second tier and 16 in the third tier. In eight years in the Conference City reached the promotion play offs three times. In 2006/07 they lost at the semi-final stage and in 2009/10 went down to Oxford United in the final and then, on May 20th 2012, promotion back to the Football League was achieved when Luton Town were beaten 2-1 at Wembley. This latter game marked the club's 4th appearance at the national stadium in four years and completed a league and cup double that season. After four years back in the Football League, York dropped back into the Conference finishing in 24th place in League 2 in 2015/16. The following season City suffered a second successive relegation, after finishing in the final relegation place in the National League and will compete in regional non-league football in 2017/18 for the first time since 1929.

The committee was a joint committee with both councillors and staff representatives as members.

The York Conservation Areas Advisory Panel was set up in May 1969 and is empowered to advise the Local Planning Authority, through its Planning Committees, on the effect various proposals referred to it by the planning department may have on the character or appearance of listed buildings and designated conservation areas. Although it is serviced by Council Officers, the Panel is not regarded as a Council Committee. Its decisions are advisory in nature and cannot be construed as legally binding on the Council or any other organisation.
Membership of the Panel consists of appropriately qualified professionals and individuals nominated by York Civic Trust, York Georgian Society, Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological Society, Royal Institute of British Architects, Yorkshire Philosophical Society, York Guild of Building and two individuals nominated by City of York Council.

The Panel meets at regular intervals throughout the year and keeps minutes of those meetings.

York Arts Centre was opened in 1968 in a converted church in Micklegate, York. The building was owned by York Civic Trust, with University of York acting as landlord. The venue provided a space for artists and creatives in York to work, and showcase exhibitions and performances. The decision was taken in autumn 1999 to wind-up the business due to ongoing financial difficulties.

A community magazine for residents in Acomb and the surrounding area.

The York Academic Trust was incorporated (as a company, limited by guarantee) in March 1956. A legally distinct entity, the Civic Trust transferred ownership and management of the institutes, and the property and funding held by the Civic Trust on the Academic Development Committee's behalf, to the new 'York Academic Trust'. A Governing Council was established from the key members of the former Academic Development Committee and this was chaired by Dean Milner-White and had as its secretary, John West-Taylor (later secretary to the York University Planning Committee and first Registrar of the University).

The York Academic Trust felt the time was right to consider another approach to the University Grants Committee (UGC) in December 1957, updating them on York's achievements to date and developing plans. In July 1958 an approach was made to the Chair of the UGC, Sir Keith Murray, via an intermediary. While Murray's response to the renewed proposal for a university at York was not wholly encouraging, the rapidity with which events were changing nationally, and the increasing pressure the UGC faced to expand university provision led to another informal approach and an invitation to Murray to visit York to discuss York's case for a university. Murray came to York in July 1959 and was shown the two institutes, and a possible site for the university at Heslington Hall (purchased by the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust in 1956) and further potential accommodation at King's Manor). Following a successful and encouraging visit the York University Promotion Committee was established in November 1959 (UOY/F/YUPC). A York deputation met with the UGC on 16 December 1959 and presented a formal memorandum to present the case for a University of York. The YUPC was informed of the success of its application for a university on 19 April 1960.

The Yorkshire Advertiser was a monthly community newsletter. In existence before 1989, it is unknown when the newsletter stopped operations.

Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 41 Christian (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox) churches in the UK and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. This Foss Area branch was set up to support the work of the charity in the local area. It is unknown exactly when the branch was formed, but it was in operation by the 1990s.

Allis was later the proprietor of a private asylum at Osbaldwick, and later Suerintendent of The Retreat in York. He was also Honorary Curator of Comparative Anatomy at the Yorkshire Museum 1839-1875, Fellow of Linnean Society, and one of the first members of the British Association.

The Ambler family were a family based in York in the early 20th century. The dominant members of the family are Thomas Ambler, Freeman of the City, who lived in Nunnery Lane, and Louis Ambler. The family had branches in West Yorkshire, York, Lincolnshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, London and America, and Louis Ambler published a book on the family in 1924, with Thomas contributing local research to that work.

York and District Animals' Hospital was a veterinary practice in York specialising in the care of animals. It's exact dates of operation are unknown, however it was operating in the 1930s.

Acomb Parish Council was officially created at some point after the Local Government Act of 1894 formed Parish Councils. The new Parish Councils assumed responsibility for local civic and social welfare which was previously managed through ecclesiastical parishes. Acomb became part of the York Unitary Authority in 1996.

York had three bailiffs. They were replaced by two sheriffs when York became a county in 1396.
Replaced by sheriffs in 1396.

The company began early in the 19th century when Gordon Armstrong opened the East Riding Engineering Works in Beverley. He then started a firm manufacturing shock absorbers in the 1920s. His William took over in 1945, establishing a research and development department in Fulford.

William Armstrong opened the York factory in 1949, to manufacture a new type of suspension unit for Ford cars and to establish the company's range of telescopic shock absorbers. The company later opened factories in Australia, Canada, the United States and South Africa. By the 1960s, Armstrong's had three manufacturing divisions and the York factory expanded in 1965.

But just six years later, Armstrong Patents warned that 250 of its 1,300 employees could be laid off due to Ford and postal strikes. After years of UK-wide industrial strife, and as foreign-built cars grew in popularity, the company announced another 400 redundancies in York in 1980. A year later, the Beverley factory closed.

Fears the York factory would close in 1986 were averted but then in 1989, after losing a £3.3m contract with Nissan, the company was sold to the American firm Tenneco and the York factory became Monroe's. Further redundancies followed, and the factory closed in 2000 with the loss of the remaining 392 jobs.

Art Scene magazine was a regular magazine about the art world in York, including directories of local artists and exhibitions. The magazine was in existence prior to 1968, and continued until the 2000s at least.

York Against The War is a branch of Stop the War Coalition and was established in October 2001 in response to the launch of military strikes on Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 Terror Attacks. The branch opposes military solutions of the problems of terrorism and promotes peaceful alternatives. It still maintains an online presence in the form of a blog on latest initiatives and campaigns.

Alan H Audin is a researcher into the history of his family in York, as well as other local history topics. The archive comprises his research notes.

York-born nun Mary Ward began a mission to educate girls in the Catholic faith in order to continue future generations of Catholics. She launched her convent run schools on the continent, where Catholicism was still legal, and built up a community around her to direct them. After her death the Sisterhood returned to York in 1686. Wishing his daughters to be given a local, Catholic education, Yorkshire businessman Thomas Gasgoine gave the Sisterhood £500 to start a small school – the Bar Convent Girls School. Gaining a good reputation, the school grew in popularity, and the Convent block in the Lower School site was built to accommodate a boarding school and a Convent.

In the 1800's, an extra wing was added to accommodate a day school, and in 1925 the Bar Convent School became a Grammar School, enabling locals to apply for scholarships.

Boys were accepted in the mid 1970's and in the early 1980's, on the abolition of the Grammar School system, to secure the future of free education for the Catholic community around York, the responsibility of the school passed from the Sisterhood to the Diocese of Middlesbrough. The school was re-opened as All Saints Roman Catholic School.
All Saints Roman Catholic School, 1985-present.

Nellie Battrick was originally from York, who travelled to India to work as a nanny. Her archives date from the 1930s, when she was employed in India. Her date of birth and death are currently unknown.

BBC Radio York was launched at 6.30am on 4 July 1983 – a launch featured on the cover of the Radio Times. A year prior to its launch a temporary AM service was broadcast for the coverage of the visit of Pope John Paul II. Broadcasts originally lasted between 6.30am and 1pm and 4pm and 6pm during the week with weekends restricted to 8am till 2pm. BBC Radio York is still the only countywide station in North Yorkshire. Notable former presenters include Jon Champion, Rob Hawthorne, Will Hanrahan, Victor Lewis Smith, Richard Whiteley and Richard Hammond.

In 1980, a steering group was formed by members of some of York's surviving guilds, to discuss the possibility of using the building as a new guild hall. Shortly afterwards the Company of Cordwainers, the Gild of Freemen and the York Guild of Building formed the Bedern Hall Company. The company raised the funds to add further facilities to complement the Hall, and a modern annexe was added to ensure that the building was equipped for the needs of future generations. Among the most striking of the modern additions are the stained glass panels in the windows, commemorating Guild members.

Since restoration, the Hall has been used by a variety of organisations as a venue for dinners, meetings and conferences. In 2005, it was licensed for civil wedding celebrations. It is also used as a meeting venue and events space.

George Benson was born in 1856. On 24 August 1889 he married Annie Denton. Benson worked in York as an architect, and was heavily involved in the Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological Society (YAYAS). He published a number of works on historic buildings in York.

T C Benfield qualified as a solicitor in York in 1929. He was always heavily involved in the life of the city, and in 1937 joined the Civil Defence volunteers (a position he retained throughout the Second World War). He was admitted into the Merchant Adventurers Company in York on 7 July 1944, and also served as Secretary of York Festival Society, holding a role during the proposed revival of the York Mystery Plays.

Benfield was elected Town Clerk of York in the late 1940s, and held the position until at least 1959. He died in 1986.

The Borthwick Institute of Historical Research was established in 1953 and was run by the Academic Development Committee of York Civic Trust (to 1956) and then by the York Academic Trust (1956-1963). These were both independent bodies which had no national or local government support.

The Borthwick Institute was founded as part of a programme of academic activities designed to support the city of York's campaign for a university, to provide more suitable accommodation for the York Diocesan Archive and to make this archive publicly available to scholars for the first time. The Borthwick was supported by an endowment, the Borthwick Trust, and was situated at St Anthony's Hall, Peasholme Green, York. The Borthwick became part of the new University of York in October 1963.

In 2005 the Borthwick's new £6.5m state-of-the-art accommodation opened on the University of York's Heslington campus. The new building was supported by a major grant of £4,415,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In the same year the Borthwick merged with the University Library. It was renamed the Borthwick Institute for Archives and became part of the University Library and Archives.

The Borthwick Institute provides a records management and archive service for the corporate records of its parent body, and leads on the University's Data Protection and Freedom of Information compliance. In 2012 the Borthwick Institute began to establish a digital archive at the Borthwick Institute with the appointment of a Digital Archivist.
York Academic Trust

The York Bibliographical Society was formed prior to 1987 as an organisation open to everyone who loves books and printing, as well as the history of printing in York. It holds a regular lecture series on these subjects which is open to members.

Leonard Birch was a builder and a citizen of York. He administered the estate of a Mrs Keys.

The origins of the firm lie in the partnership of John Carr and Peter Atkinson in York in the late eighteenth century. Peter Atkinson’s son, also Peter, joined the practice as a partner in 1801.

After the deaths of Peter Atkinson Senior (in 1805) and John Carr (in 1807), and following unsuccessful partnerships with Matthew Philips and Richard Hey Sharp, Peter Atkinson Junior went into partnership with his eldest son, John Bonas Atkinson, in 1831. His younger son, William, joined as partner in 1837, and together with his brother established the firm as a significant architectural practice. They were later joined by James Demaine in 1874 and Walter Henry Brierley in 1885.

The work of Brierley made the name of the firm. Between 1885 and 1926 it was responsible for over 300 buildings, including churches, houses and civic buildings in York and across the North of England. These include Northallerton County Hall, Scarcroft School in York, and Goddards on Tadcaster Road, built for the Terry family in the 1920s.

The firm was continued by his partner from 1911, James Hervey Rutherford, with Brierley's place taken by John Stuart Syme, who later entered into partnership with John Keighley and Cecil and John Leckenby.

Today the firm lives on as Brierley Groom, an architectural practice still based in York.

Harold Edgar Bloor trained as an engineer, and spent his career specialising in gas services. He joined York Gas Company, and wrote a report and recommendations for the reconstruction of the York gas works in 1913. By August 1940 he was listed as a Director.

Bloor also held a number of appointments outside of York Gas Company during his working life. In 1919 he was elected President of the North of England Gas Managers Association, by 1924 he was a consulting engineer for Driffield gas works, and in 1931 he was an arbitrator for the gas sector. He was a member of the Gas Council, and Chairman of Minster Engineering in the late 1920s and 1930s. Bloor was elected Chairman of the Yorkshire Joint Tar Board and Tar Producers Committee, and was a member of the Benzole Committee in the 1940s.

Bloor was also an inventor, and took out a large number of patents for various new inventions throughout the 1940s and 1950s. He had also invented a means of humidification using domestic heating apparatus in 1933.

Aside from his working life, Bloor was a shareholder and Director of the York Citizens Theatre Trust, set up to run the Theatre Royal; a Director of M A Craven and Son Ltd and Governor of the Merchant Adventurers in 1945/1946. He was also involved in his local Rotary Club. He held voluntary positions in both World Wars – he was a Temporary Captain in the Volunteer Force in the First World War (he held his position in the West Riding Motor Volunteer Corps, No. 4 Group), and became a Fire Guard in 1941.

Bloor wrote and presented extensively throughout his life, including on the effects of the First World War on the gas industry. He presented to school children and adults. His date of death is unknown.

Anne Bayliss was a resident of York. She co-wrote a book on the life of York Artist William James Boddy in 1996 with her husband Paul.

Paul Bayliss was a resident of York. He co-wrote a book on the life of York Artist William James Boddy in 1996 with his wife Anne.

The need to regulate trade between Great Britain, the remaining British colonies and the independent United States of America, and between Britain and France after the Peace of Versailles in 1783 led William Pitt to establish a new Committee of Council on Trade and Plantations (later known as 'the First Committee') by an order in Council of 5 March 1784. To strengthen this committee he reconstructed it by a second order, of 23 August 1786, under which it operated for the rest of its existence.

The committee has been known as the Board of Trade since 1786, but this title was only adopted officially by an Act of 1861. Its first functions were consultative, like those of William III's board, and its concern with plantations, in matters such as the approval of colonial laws, was originally a reality. As the industrial revolution progressed, however, the board's work became increasingly executive and domestic and from the 1840's a succession of acts of parliament gave it regulatory duties, notably concerning railways, merchant shipping, and joint stock companies.

To deal with these new functions specialised branches were developed, while the remaining business was transacted until 1863 by a Commercial (also called General) Department. Besides its wider consultative business, this department dealt with art unions, charters, colonial and commercial questions, copyright, corn returns, quarantine, licences to limited companies to hold land, merchant shipping and seamen, navigation laws, schools of design and tariffs. From an early stage, the board's business was transacted at nominal meetings attended only by the President and the Vice President and their secretaries, which occurred twice a week. After 1845 even these nominal meetings ceased.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the board acquired many new responsibilities (several of which were later transferred to other government departments) and underwent periodic reorganisations, notably in 1919 after the end of the First World War. Responsibility for fisheries was transferred to the Board of Agriculture in 1903, labour functions to the Ministry of Labour in 1917, railways to the Ministry of Transport in 1919, merchant shipping to the Ministry of Shipping in 1939 and fuel and power to the Ministry of Fuel and Power in 1942.

The board's duties nevertheless remained numerous, especially during the First and Second World Wars and by the 1960's included a general responsibility for commerce, industry and overseas trade and in particular commercial relations with other countries; imports and exports; tariffs; industrial development; consumer protection; tourism; and statistics of trade and industry at home and abroad, including censuses of production and distribution.

The board was responsible for government relations with all industries not specifically the concern of other departments. It also had supervisory or regulatory duties concerning patents, designs and trademarks and copyright; weights and measures; merchandise marks; companies; bankruptcy; insurance; the distribution of industry; films; and enemy property.

The board's functions altered even more frequently during the administrative reorganisations of the 1960s. It regained its merchant shipping responsibilities from the Ministry of Transport in 1965 and acquired civil aviation duties from the Ministry of Aviation in 1966. It lost its responsibility for the distribution of industry and the sponsorship of individual industries to the Ministry of Technology in 1969 and for certain productivity services and for control over monopolies, mergers, and restrictive practices to the Department of Employment and Productivity in the same year. Finally, in October 1970 the board was merged with the Ministry of Technology to form the Department of Trade and Industry.

British Rail was solely responsible for the state railways of Britain, transforming a collection of exhausted, post-war steam operators into the modern network we know today.

The history of British Rail is the story of post-war rail travel in the UK. British Railways, known from the 1960s simply as British Rail, operated most of Britain's trains from 1948 to 1997. Formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" UK railway companies – LNER, LMS, GWR and SR – BR became an independent statutory corporation in 1962 (the British Railways Board) and oversaw the transformation of the UK rail network until its privatisation in the 1990s.

The decades after nationalisation in 1948 brought wholesale change to the national railway network, as governments committed to the elimination of steam traction in favour of diesel and electric power. Over time, with the growth of the road haulage sector, passengers replaced freight (especially coal transport) as the railways' main source of income, and, as rationalisation took hold in the 1960s, one third of the pre-1948 network was closed.

In the 1970s, British Rail began investing in High Speed Trains and by 1990 both main coastal express routes, the East and West Coast Main Lines had been electrified between London and central Scotland.

Following a 1950s modernisation plan designed to take Britain's railways from the 19th to the 20th century, Doctor Richard Beeching's 1963 report, 'The Reshaping of British Railways', recommended the closure of a third of passenger services and more than 4000 of the 7000 stations. Most of the closures were carried out between 1963 and 1970, and today's network is largely his legacy.

In 1982, British Rail passenger services were split into three core sectors: InterCity, NetworkSouthEast and Regional Railways. Then, between 1994 and 1997, British Rail was privatised, as track and infrastructure passed to Railtrack in 1994 and, later, passenger services were franchised in 25 blocks to private-sector operators. Freight services were sold outright. Overall, ownership and operation of the network became highly fragmented, as operations were split between more than 100 companies.