WE have various street views of York for you today. The first four, at least, are united by one thing: they all feature horse-drawn carts of one sort or another. That gives you an idea of how long ago they were taken: and also gives a glimpse of what York's streets were like before the car took over.

Other photos we have included just because we like them - or because they show a quirky view of York that we've not seen before. All the photos come from the wonderful Imagine York archive kept by Explore York Libraries and Archives

1. This horse and cart and car are passing down Monkgate, probably in the early 1920s. The photograph may be by local photographer William Hayes. The shop and post office on the left were demolished in order to allow road widening. The post office was one of the oldest in York and it, along with the shop, had been run by Charles Thorburn Hutchinson who had been Lord Mayor in 1937/8. When Alderman Hutchinson was elected in 1937 one of the first things he did was to distribute food parcels to the unemployed who had to queue in Exhibition Square. Alderman Hutchinson had a special interest in the Groves and attended and taught Sunday School at Groves Chapel

2. This horse and cart is passing St Martin Le Grand Church on Coney Street in the 1880s. It gives an idea of just how imposing the church was before it was bombed during the York Blitz

3. This horse and cart is heading out of the city centre under the railway bridge on Leeman Road, probably in the late 1890s. Imagine how busy the road would be in a similar photo taken today...

4. The horse and cart in front of Micklegate Bar in this photograph from the 1920s belongs to W.R. Leason, who was a wholesale stationer and printer at 8 Bridge Street. It was probably making a delivery to Edwin Story's book shop at 6 Blossom Street. A motor van can be glimpsed through the arch, a sign of things to come

5. No horse and cart here. This busy scene in St Sampson's Square dates from the late 1920s or early 1930s. The Mail Coach Inn on the right is shown before its alteration and refurbishment. On the left is the Black Bull Hotel. An advert for 'slipper baths' - a a deep-soaking bathtub that allows you to wallow in the water for hours - can be seen in the foreground. We're not sure whether the baths were for sale, or whether there was a bathhouse upstairs somewhere where paying clients could have a good wallow...

6. An unusual view through the city walls by Queen Street bridge. The photo probably dates from the 1930s and shows the platform of the old railway station, now offices. The building in the foreground was the ‘Railway Locking Fitters’ and that through the arches was the S & T (Signal and Telecommunications) workshop

7. MEN OF LEISURE: The stand for the 1909 Historical Pageant in Museum Gardens, pictured here, held 5000 spectators comfortably. To ensure that all the audience were afforded the best view possible all tickets were printed with a respectful request that ‘all ladies attending the pageant will remove their hats’...

Stephen Lewis

All the photos on these pages, and thousands more, are held on Explore York’s Imagine York archive. You can browse this at imagineyork.co.uk/