An old photo of what was, back then, a rather new view.
Getty marks this photograph as taken between 1860 and 1879, however the buildings to the left – constructed in 1864 as a row of three houses and later converted into the Dean Court Hotel – marks this photograph from the mid 1860s at the very earliest. The other three prominent buildings – The Minster, St Michael le Belfrey, and 23 High Petergate – are significantly older.
The road layout itself was also new. Prior to 1864, Little Blake Street was a narrow, enclosed thoroughfare with a large number of buildings on both sides- including on the site of the small park to the right.
Little Blake Street Circa 1852
After the 1864 reconstruction, Little Blake Street was opened up to a width of almost 100 feet with most of the buildings on either side removed. The core result of this reconstruction was to increase the visibility of The Minster for those approaching from the railway station and the newly constructed Lendal Bridge. This reconstruction also notably moved the frontage of the Church of St Wilfrid – a Roman Catholic church – directly onto Little Blake Street itself.
Duncombe Place Circa 1891
In 1880 Little Blake Street was renamed Duncombe Place.
The view todays remains prretty much the same with only notable addition of a memorial to the Second Boer War on the green space to the right.