As we celebrate 60 years of York House Leisure, we’ve been chatting to some of our long-standing home owners at York House Holiday Park about their memories of the site over the years.
We spoke to Brian Daley, his sister-in-law Marilyn Potts and her husband Les, whose families have, remarkably, been at the park for almost as long as it has existed. The Daleys and the Potts enjoyed York House Holiday Park so much that in earlier years it was like a family takeover, with around 40 members of their combined families on the park! Now, for Brian, Marilyn and Les, who still own caravans at York House, it represents decades of wonderful moments and memories through the generations that continue to this day.
Read on to discover how these two families came to York House, and enjoy the fabulous photos they’ve shared with us from happy times through the years.
Holiday park memories
It was the mid-1960s when Brian’s parents, Bob (known as Bobo) and Vera Daley, bought their first caravan on York House from the then site owner/farmer John Hebden. They had initially visited the site and stayed in a tent, but soon decided to buy a caravan – a classic 1960s Pemberton, 26ft long and 9.5ft wide, pictured below.
Despite being considered modern in its day, the caravan had gas mantle lighting and a fold down bed from the lounge side wall. However, it did have a gas fire in the lounge which was very up to date as many other models still had solid fuel fires in their lounges.
When Brian married Anita in March 1969 in Sunderland, the happy couple borrowed Bobo’s Ford Zephyr 6 and took off on their honeymoon… heading to the family’s caravan at York House. However, it was Easter week and they only had a few days alone before the rest of the family joined them for their own holiday!
Static holiday homes in the 1960s
The photo below shows a typical caravan park view from the era, comprising static holiday homes with neatly mown lawns, overlooking seasonal tourers and newer touring caravans.
This mix of random leisure vehicles is typical of holiday parks at that time, and was due to a lack of concrete bases, mains water and electricity – a marked contrast from today’s organised and serviced plots.
Vintage caravan interior
The image below shows several points of historic interest from the interior of the caravan. Firstly, the roofline harks back to its origins from the touring background, with taller roofs and tiled finishes still decades away.
As was usual in those days, the caravan is only single glazed and has a solitary gas fire, although some heat did come off the gas mantles used for lighting!
The large ‘wardrobe’ on the right of the picture below is actually the main bed which pulled down, while children could also sleep on the seating cushions.
The kitchen
Emulating the change in domestic kitchens of the time, caravans gained melamine wall units, Formica worktops and – if you were lucky – a cooker with a grill and a hob.
One thing to note about the picture below is the water supply under the cooker, in the form of two buckets. Trips to the block would continue for a good few years yet as it was only towards the 1980s when some caravan parks began to fully service their plots.
Touring caravan in the late 1960s
The image below shows Bobo and Vera standing on their lawn outside of their Pemberton. Whilst the caravan behind them and to the left in the picture could suggest a much earlier time frame, the touring caravan to the far right is a CI Sprite which was very new in the late 60s.
The 1970s
Bobo and Vera decided they needed a newer caravan and bought a stylish brand new A-Line Super from local dealer Burtree Caravans at Darlington.
Based on the A-Line model, the image below left is from around 1975. It shows that electricity had arrived at the plots at York House by that point, with the TV aerial and electric meter clearly visible in the picture.
The A-Line was sited just in front of the brook area, allowing the children maximum paddling time nearby. The brook and its little beach were very much part of the attraction at York House in those days.
Despite a newer look on the exterior, this A-Line would still have been single glazed and with only a gas fire in the lounge. However, being longer and wider than the previous generation Pemberton, advancements had been made with sleeping arrangements. The fold down bed had disappeared and would likely have been replaced with a double bedroom and a child’s wooden bunk twin room. It would also have gained a bathroom, but this would only have been used if the plot was serviced at this time!
Bespoke step and decking companies had not yet arrived on the scene, so it was typical to see steps associated with touring caravans being used on statics, as shown in the photo below. This image also shows that change was coming outside the holiday home too – note that this new plot has received groundworks with flagged paving, gravel and garden areas.
Not long after buying this caravan the then park manager Eric introduced Bobo and Brian to a gentleman on his first day of taking ownership of the park. His name was Neil Brierley, and he would take York House Leisure into a new modern world. Neil’s sons Phil and Tim still own and run the park today.
By the late 1970s, more of Brian and Anita’s families had joined the York House contingent and bought a caravan on the park, including Brian’s sister as well as his auntie and uncle, Irene and Ted Colledge. The picture below shows Vera and Irene enjoying a sunny day relaxing by their holiday home.
Then, in 1978, Brian introduced his in-laws Joan and Matty Edmundson to York House and they too bought their first caravan, also a Pemberton, on the park. Joan and Matty were parents to Anita and her sister Marilyn, who had married Les in 1976, with the couple often joining the family for holidays at York House.
By the end of the decade, Brian and Anita were also happy owners of a caravan of their own at York House.
The 1980s
The early 1980s saw Les and Marilyn buy their first caravan, a used Pemberton from the late 1960s.
Les had also introduced his parents, Les and Doreen, to York House and in 1982 they bought a caravan on the site. At around the same time, Les’s brother Steve also bought a caravan.
Demonstrating that electricity had arrived on the plots at York House by this point, Les can be seen in the pictures below using his new Flymo whilst wearing his trendy Sunderland AFC period tracksuit. The caravan he is alongside is a Belmont which, like the creamy coloured ABI Constellation in the distance, dates from the 1970s. The grey-green rear of the caravan to the right is Les’s late 60s Pemberton.
Their sons Lee (pictured below left with Les and Marilyn) and Ben spent most of their weekends at York House while they were growing up, and have a special relationship with the surrounding area. Ben even met and married Kelly, a local girl from Thirsk, and they now live in the town.
Les and Marilyn love the fact that they have kept updating their caravan at York House and are able to visit the park regularly and see Ben and their grandchildren at the same time nearby. And Ben loves being able to use the brand new on-site fishing lake, as shown in the picture below!
A sense of community
The Daleys and the Potts embody the family feel and strong sense of community that has always existed at York House Holiday Park. They are among several owners over the years who have introduced various members of their families to the joys of holidaying here.
Special thanks to Brian (and in memory of Anita), Marilyn and Les, pictured today at York House, for sharing these precious moments in time with us and for giving an insight into their connection to our wonderful holiday park. Without people like them, the park would not have the character it has today, from which everyone benefits.
For more memories of York House, have a read of our blog from September 2021 when holiday home owners Mike and June said goodbye to the park after an incredible 50 years.