Why Crichton Avenue Bridge was built in York in the 1930s

IN his recent article on the General Strike of 1926, Dr Duncan Marks of York Civic Trust mentioned the level crossing at Burton Lane.

What many residents will not know is that before 1929, as you travelled along Burton Stone Lane from the Clifton end, you would have had to take a sharp right turn at the row of terraced houses which was called Field View.

The cast iron sign for the row is still there today but 100 years ago it was just the name of the row of houses and indeed they had a view of the fields to the north of Burton Lane as you headed over the level crossing to Wigginton Road at Bootham Stray bridge over the Foss Islands goods railway, close to Rowntree’s factory.

Burton Lane Level crossing in the 1920s. Photo from the Hanstock collection and supplied by YAYAS

In 1929, the Wall Street crash occurred and in Britain, unemployment hit hard; by 1931-2 male unemployment in York reached 20 per cent.

Rowntree’s factory had a difficult decade, with about 6,000 employees at the start of the decade and a fall in numbers of 1,500 by the end.

The company’s unemployment scheme paid on average £11,000 per year from 1923-7. David Sprunt Crichton’s influence on the Rowntree works after the First World War was considerable as a social worker and welfare officer for the company and his work alongside other fellow directors such as J B Morrell and Oscar Rowntree enhanced the factory’s reputation as a caring employer.

Nationally, there were schemes to create work for the increasing number of unemployed men and York was no exception.

The City Council acquired the land at the northern end of Burton (Stone) Lane in January 1929 with a view to building council houses using a loan of £23,578 to build the new roads and sewers.

Crichton Avenue Bridge under construction. Photo from the Hanstock collection and supplied by YAYAS

They also applied for a grant of £17,000 to build a new bridge over the York-Scarborough railway line so that the level crossing could be abolished.

In the November of 1929, a deputation went to London for a meeting with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, none other than Sir Oswald Mosley.

At the same time, it was proposed to extend Burton Stone Lane north of its old turn at Field View to form a t-junction with another new road.

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On January 1, 1930 it was announced that the new road would be named Crichton Avenue in memory of David Sprunt Crichton, the former welfare officer for Rowntree’s who had died in 1921; his widow became Lord Mayor in 1941, long after the new road was created.

This has led to a minor myth that Crichton Avenue was named after Edna Crichton. In an article in the Leeds Mercury of January 1, 1930 titled “Memory of York Man to be Honoured by City Council” it was stated that the new road would be named after David Sprunt Crichton “whose name is so highly honoured in that district”.

Crichton Avenue bridge in York. Picture:Google Maps

The new bridge was opened by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Vernon Wragge in June 1932 along with another small bridge over the Foss at another new road called Fossway. In an article in the Leeds Mercury of June 30, the Lord Mayor said that one of his chief delights was that the level crossing could now be dispensed with and he added that: “this bridge has been built largely with the idea, after the necessities of the neighbourhood have been taken into account, of benefitting the unemployed”.

In YAYAS’ photo archive there are several images by Thomas Hanstock of the new bridge over the railway being built and even one showing a train from Scarborough to York passing under it. Some have speculated that the boy watching the train is none other than Peter Hanstock, Thomas’s son, who donated his father’s collection to the society in the 1980s.

John is the chairman of Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological Society (YAYAS) and is a local historian.

YAYAS developed from its foundation in 1842. It publishes the York Historian and YAYAS Times, with articles and news items about York and its surrounds.

It is active with lectures and excursions and is always happy to welcome new members and suggestions for visits.

Its archives include photographic illustrations that can be used for research or reproduction with copyright acknowledgement.

Visit the website www.yayas.org.uk for more information about the organisation, its publications, how you can support it.