Unfortunately nothing is known about who made this film or exactly when it was made. The film was acquired by the YFA from the York Civic Trust, who in turn obtained it from the National Film and Television Archive, held by the British Film Institute (BFI). The BFI was set up in 1933 initially to promote, study, and help educate about film in the UK, but from 1948 it refocused on documenting British films and promoting film appreciation. The BFI were donated the film by the Archives of the Barnes Museum of Cinematography set up by John Barnes, the renown early cinema historian. Barnes did not have any information on the film or where it came from. Unfortunately also, the film has deteriated over the years and suffers from flashing.

 

Like so many films the YFA has acquired, the absence of information means that we can only speculate on who made it and for what purpose. It appears to be a promotion of York and its architecture; perhaps an early example of a tourist film. Certainly after the First World War US tourists in particular were doing the rounds of the British Cathedrals – U.S. visitors to Britain reached 400,000 during the 1920s, fading as the Great Depression had its effect.  The information the film provides is the kind of thing to be found in one of the Murray's Handbooks For Travellersor the earlier Baedeker guides, originating in Germany in the 1820s. Their first edition for Great Britain goes back to 1887, and this acquired an English editor during the First World War. Famously, the maps included as part of the handbook were used by German pilots in their bombing missions over Britain. York was one of the cities targeted in April 1942 and the Guildhall, the Assembly Rooms and St Martin-le-Grand were among the places hit – but fortunately York got off rather lightly.  It is somewhat ironic that allied planes later in the war destroyed the Baedeker headquarters and archives.

 

The York Cathedral is a focus of the film, and in particular the stained glass windows. It may be no coincidence that work started on cleaning up the three quarters of an acre of medieval stained glass in 1919 (more can be found on the Cathedral in the Context for The West Riding Of Yorkshire). The YFA has several related films that show York at various times during the past 100 years.  The first goes back to 1911, and there is also one of a visit by HRH Duke of York to Rowntree's Cocoa Works in 1920.  A more recent film that makes for an interesting companion to this film is History of York, made by Patrick Olsen in 1974. This provides an audio commentary that runs through York’s history.

 

Those who know York will see how little it has changed, despite Second World War bombing, since this film was made. One notable place where it has changed is in the area to the front of the Railway Station – this area can be clearly seen as it was in 1949 in another film on YFA Online, English Children.   But the uses of some of the buildings has changed. One such is King’s Manor which became the Yorkshire School for the Blind in 1833. It stopped being this in 1958 and was acquired by the City of York Council, who leased it to the University in 1963 which used it to house the Institute for Advanced Architectural Studies. It is now home to the Department of Archaeology, the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies of the University of York.

 

The intertitles provide information on each of the aspects of York and its architecture that the film covers. However, one piece of information that needs correcting is the statement that St William’s College was built in 1453. In fact it was founded in 1461 as a residence for chaplains, or chantry priests – opening in 1467.  The confusion in dates may come from the fact that it was named after Saint William of York, who was Archbishop in 1153 and whose tomb lies inside the Minster.  St William's College was often a base for escapades against the Scots, and when Charles I was excluded from Hull in 1642 he used the College as a base, with a printing press for his propaganda, during the civil war.  It later became a town house, and was divided up with shop fronts in the eighteenth century. Now it houses a restaurant and rooms for conferences.

 

 

Alberic Stacpoole et al (eds), The Noble City of York, Cerialis Press, York, 1972.

The Rev. Charles C. Bell, The Story of York Minster, Raheal Tucker and Sons, London, 1931.

Victor Middleton, British Tourism: a remarkable story of growth, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, London, 2005

For more information on the BFI and its history