York is famous for its floods. Whenever it happens, TV news channels cover the dramatic and destructive effects of the rivers Ouse and Foss as they spill into the streets and buildings.
According to York – A Rare Insight, unwise and reckless development by Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and everyone that followed them right up to the 21st Century has meant that the streets and buildings of York have regularly been subject to flooding.
The Evelyn Collection, which is featured in this book, records many occasions when York and surrounding areas succumbed to rising waters. Here are some of the pictures:
The Bonded Warehouse engulfed by the River Ouse, with barges in danger of being grounded when the waters recede.
The Ouse invades Lower Marygate. The buildings on the right onces stood against the Abbey Walls, and have long since been demolished.
It’s hard to drag a hand-cart through the flooded streets, as attested to by these residents. Note the person in the window watching on from their dry perch!
The brave driver of this horse and cart forces their way through the floods at Clifton Green. Today this is a busy road junction.
Thankfully these old horse-drawn buses kept passengers high and dry when attempting to negotiate flooded streets! The walls in the bacground are those of the prison at Castlegate, which was demolished in the 1920s.
Residents view a flooded Skeldergate. The industrial buildings in the background have now been replaced by modern luxury apartments. Despite modern measures, the residents of these new buildings were still significantly disrupted by the flooding of 2016.
To see hundreds more of these wonderful images of old York, order a copy of York – A Rare Insight today.
