This rather ornate building was the toll house and machinery room for Skeldergate Bridge. The upper part was the toll house and faced onto the road behind it. The lower half was where the machinery was housed to enable one smaller arch of the bridge to lift and allow tall ships through to the nearby Queens Staith, at one time a very busy area of warehouses.
Tolls were formerly abolished on 1st April 1914, and a regatta was held to celebrate.
The last time the machinery was used to lift the bridge arch was 1975, and the machinery was later removed. The area on Queens Staith where warehouses once existed is now a mix of hotels and apartments, though some original features survive.
This building is now a cafe bar known as Dyls, and is a useful calling point for those walking beside the River Ouse from the nearby car park into the centre of York.
Sadly, its riverside location does make it very vulnerable to flooding, as could be seen in this shot of the outside dining area of Dyls - https://365project.org/fishers/365/2024-01-28
This is another shot from my archive, and was taken several years ago, though the scene is unchanged today.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I love the way that at the time Skeldergate Bridge was built, a building for such a mundane purpose as a toll house and machine room could be such an ornate and impressive structure.
@koalagardens I haven't yet come across a Troll Bridge, though some years ago I visited the Fairy Bridge in the Isle of Man - does that count?
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I love the way that at the time Skeldergate Bridge was built, a building for such a mundane purpose as a toll house and machine room could be such an ornate and impressive structure.
@koalagardens I haven't yet come across a Troll Bridge, though some years ago I visited the Fairy Bridge in the Isle of Man - does that count?
Ian
Thank you Vesna, I like it and its history.
Ian