Includes 'BT Film York' 1953, 'York Minster Restoration' and 'Opening by the Queen' 4 Nov 1988.
'This is York' 1953.
Duration: 1 hour 13mins
Timing: Action on film
(00:51) Early morning in York. People make their way to work by bicycle and bus.
(01:45) A steam train pulls into York Railway Station. The first trains came to York in about 1840.
(02:04) The station master in his bowler hat and top coat goes into his office to begin work.
(03:08) There is a telephone exchange and a tele-printer at British Transport headquarters in York.
(03:17) The outer office deals with most enquiries.
(03:35) The station master likes to go out on a tour of inspection in the public areas of the station.
(03:44) Some young train spotters are buying their platform tickets.
(04:59) The station master calls into the signal box. This has one panel and a bank of switches. The light bulbs on the electric display show where every train in the area is located at any time.
(05:57) They keep a record of delays in the 'Occurrence Book'.
(06:19) The station announcer is seated in front of her microphone making announcements in 'clipped tones'. Shots of her are mixed with scenes of the passengers boarding 'slam-door' trains.
(07:33) View of the points changing the direction of the rails as the signalman moves a switch.
(07:34) A steam train leaves the station and we see its progress on the electric display in the signal box.
(08:18) In Clifton sidings, train carriages are being shuffled and re-arranged. Some need to be sent to the carriage and waggon works for repair.
(08:49) A 'British Transport Hotels' lorry brings the laundry in baskets. One of the central laundries is in York and from here laundry is sent to station hotels throughout the country.
(09:33) Oil lamps for trains are trimmed and filled.
(09:39) The station master polishes his top hat ready to greet an important passenger.
(10:06) Passengers eat at a food stall and in the station buffet.
(10:40) Each time a train arrives there are at least 15 people with jobs to do before the train departs.
(12:53) Mr Barnes of Thornton le Dale sends his prize rabbits via the new parcel vans.
(14:36) The station staff help a lady in a wheelchair to change trains.
(15:09) Meetings such as those of the Local Departmental Committee help to get people working together.
(15:32) In 'Tearoom Square' the station staff are sorting the sacks of mail.
(15:51) In the ticket office we see the staff taking tickets from racks to sell to passengers.
(16:09) A view over the smoky rooftops of York with the Minster in the middle distance.
(16:42) At dusk a view of the rush-hour in York. A policeman directs the traffic.
(16:47) Young women are typing up the timetables and operating a telephone switchboard at 'Area Headquarters'.
(17:11) A managerial meeting comes to a close.
(17:33) The camera shows portraits of eminent Victorian railwaymen, including George Stephenson, George Hudson, and Edward Pease.
(17:59) An attendant walks through York Railway Museum.
(18:25) Levers, which once controlled the railway signals, have been replaced by electric switches.
(18:49) The station master has finished for the day, but even after he leaves the trains run late into the night.
'Glory Renewed' York Minster Restoration
(20:26) Dramatic photographs of the fire at York Minster in 1984.
(20:38) James Hogg reminds us that this was the tenth time since the 'Dark Ages' that a church on this site has caught fire.
(20:45) Footage of the interior of the Minster, with the roof completely exposed and rubble on the floor.
(21:17) Bob Littlewood, Superintendent of Works at York Minster, speaks of his admiration for the Minster and the people who built it. He describes how they are trying to re-create what was there before.
(21:45) The Duchess of Kent wearing a hard hat visits the damaged Minster. She shares her thoughts.
(23:17) Charles Brown, Surveyor of the Fabric, explains how they discussed the options and began the restoration of the South Transept.
(24:04) The Roman road at the eastern end of the Minster once echoed to the tramp of the 6th Legion, whose northern headquarters covered 50 acres across this area.
(24:39) While James Hogg describes the history of York Minster we see aerial views of the building.
(25:15) There is a Roman column in the foundations of the Minster, yet there is no trace of the Saxon church which was also on this site.
(25:33) James Hogg shows us a [Victorian] wall painting of King Edwin in the Minster crypt. Edwin converted to Christianity in 672 AD.
(26:23) A view of some recently discovered Saxon gravestones, including the Doomstone, found 6 feet down alongside the Minster.
(27:43) There are also some skeletons from a Saxon burial ground.
(27:56) Derek Phillips, the York Minster Archaeologist, shows how a Saxon gravedigger has cut through the side of an ancient Roman column in the course of his work.
(28:42) When York Minster was built in the 13th century, it engulfed and enlarged the Norman cathedral which actually had much better foundations.
(29:00) Thomas of Bayeux, the first Norman Archbishop of York, had a brilliant group of engineers working for him. The later medieval builders used parts of the Norman foundations for their Minster.
(29:28) A computer simulation of the Norman Minster. There are still some vestiges of the Norman building in the present Minster.
(31:31) Historian John H. Harvey describes the imitation stone work painted onto the plaster of the Norman Minster.
(32:38) The Great West Window of 1338 was undergoing urgent repairs by the Minster's masons.
(33:24) One of the masons describes the work they were doing and we see a reconstruction of a medieval mason at work.
(34:52) There is evidence in the crypt of where some of the Norman Choir was rebuilt in 1137.
(35:03) A view of a mason's mark for this period.
(35:08) A guide tells a group of schoolchildren about the Five Sisters window in the Minster. This is an early medieval stained glass window.
(35:33) We take a closer look at the window.
(36:45) The East Window floods the Choir with light. James Hogg tells us about John Thornton, master glazier of Coventry, who created the window in the early 1400s.
(37:37) The Rose Window of the South Transept. This window is a symbol of the House of Tudor. It was cracked into about 40,000 separate pieces by the fire.
(38:19) The 73 panels of stained glass from the Rose Window were lifted out and restored by enclosing the glass on both sides with clear glass.
(39:58) Peter Gibson, Superintendent of York Glaziers Trust, explains how successful the restoration was.
(40:36) A view of the famous Wren and Spider glass, which is now in the Zouche Chapel.
(42:42) Archbishop Walter de Grey arrived in 1215 and initiated the building of the medieval Minster. We see de Gray's tomb and the painting of him, which was recently discovered on his coffin lid. A beautiful ring, chalice and other artefacts were also found in his tomb.
(44:30) James Hogg describes the design of de Gray's Minster.
(45:25) A view of English oak trees being felled for use on the South Transept roof. Bob Littlewood describes how the work was done.
(46:57) Nick Quayle, a mason, discusses how they made the new ceiling bosses.
(48:04) We see some of the faces based on the family and friends of the stone carvers in 1270, which were used for the 300 Chapter House carvings.
(48:22) James Hogg discusses the design and history of the Chapter House.
(49:26) A look at the architecture and history of the Nave.
(51:08) Close-up shots of the statues of the kings of England on the Choir screen.
(51:42) A black and white film of the Duchess of Kent's marriage at the Minster in 1961.
(53:10) The camera looks down to the Minster floor from high in the Central Tower. James Hogg describes the imminent collapse of the Central Tower in the 1960s. The Tower had previously collapsed in 1407. A huge restoration appeal was successful, and steel rods and concrete were used to reinforce the tower.
(54:35) In the Undercroft are the modern concrete reinforcements, the 1290 underpinnings, the Norman foundations and a Roman wall with paintings.
(55:50) Computer simulations of the different buildings which have stood on the site of the Minster.
(56:42) Bob Littlewood describes how they constructed the new timber roof after the fire. Bob's grandfather, father, mother and uncle have all worked at the Minster and now his son has joined him.
(58:58) James Hogg discusses how the Minster took centuries to build and also inspired the great restoration after the 1984 fire.
(59:57) The Duchess of Kent and Bob Littlewood stand in the Minster and discuss the success of the restoration.
(1:02:46) A child is being baptised in the Crypt of the Minster in 1988. His grandfather is the head of the Embroiderers' Guild.
Opening by Queen Elizabeth 4 Nov 1988
(1:05:15) The Queen steps out of her train and onto the red carpet at York Railway station. The Duke and Duchess of Kent are with her.
(1:05:30) The Lord Lieutenant and Lord Mayor of York greet her.
(1:06:05) Soldiers give the royal salute.
(1:06:30) Her Majesty arrives at the Minster at 11am for the Service of Re-Dedication.
(1:07:39) She unveils a plaque in the floor of the South Transept.
(1:07:55) Dr John Habgood, Archbishop of York, speaks during the re-dedication service.
(1:08:23) The Queen leaves for lunch, taking time to chat to the public and receive flowers.
(1:08:53) She returns to the South Transept to meet members of the Minster's resident workforce.
(1:09:52) The Duchess of Kent talks to the children who won the 'Blue Peter' competition to design new bosses. Biddy Baxter from 'Blue Peter' explains how these children now have a place in history.
(1:10:55) The Queen walks outside and receives more flowers from the public.
(1:10:24) The Queen meets some of the firemen who tackled the blaze. Chief Fire Officer, Stan Phillips, says how pleased he is to see the Minster restored.
(1:11:05) Her Majesty is shown the stone yard on Deangate and meets the Minster's team of stonemasons.
(1:11:29) The Queen visits the York Glaziers Trust and they show her some examples of stained glass restoration.
(1:12:49) She collects more flowers from the crowds outside before she leaves.
Film and Sound Archive access copy available onsite in the Audio-Visual Room
