A HOARD of memorabilia from the 1980s has been unearthed with the discovery of a time capsule at The Press’s former headquarters in Walmgate, York.

The box was placed below the building when it was constructed in the late 1980s to replace the newspaper’s former HQ in Coney Street.

It was uncovered by demolition crews as they knocked down the Walmgate building to make way for student flats.

The newspaper’s staff had moved to new offices next door.

The site in Walmgate, where the time capsule was found

The hoard includes a booklet, signed by dozens of members of staff, revealing that a foundation stone/time capsule ceremony took place on November 17, 1988.

A selection of newspapers from that month revealed the issues which were dominating the news agenda of the time.

The front page from November 5 reported that York was enjoying its hour of glory as the Queen visited the city to see the Minster’s restored South Transept, which stood open for the first time since the blaze that ravaged it four years earlier.

More gloomily, the paper also reported that York was facing a Christmas with one of its dullest ever festive lights displays.

The front page of November 15 reported that York City Council was going on a £22 million spend, spend, spending spree to empty its coffers of surplus cash.

The following day’s main story stated that two people had died and several others had been injured after fog brought chaos to the roads.

The capsule also contained a box of Smarties – still made in York in those days – a video containing footage from the Yorkshire Evening Press offices in Coney Street, the new building in Walmgate and also scenes from the city centre, and a cassette tape containing oral history interviews with various residents.

There is also a video showing Rowntree television commercials, a corporate plan from the British Railways Board, the designs for the Walmgate building by Shepherd and catalogues for stores such as Argos and Boots.

A report on how York City Council was “making progress” in providing “better services for the customer, better services for the citizen”, was deposited by the then Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Reg Pulleyn.

An East Coast guide, published by the Press, showed scenic pictures from the resorts, including a young woman clad in a skimpy bathing costume and sitting on the rail of a boat.

Other items in the box included a Garfield key ring, a pair of sunglasses, a pocket calculator and a Yorkshire Evening Press inked stamp.

*Our thanks go to Saville Audio Visual of Poppleton for converting VHS video tapes from the time capsule into digital format.



The following recordings of interviews were found within the time capsule:

Bill Ridsdale shares his memories of the First World War air raids, school and his time working on the railways:

