The phrase 'it was a time' is correct and can be used in written English. You could use it to refer to a time in the past such as in the sentence, "It was a time of peace and prosperity.".
It was a time trial.
It was a time of innocence.
It was a time to hang fire.
But it was a time capsule nonetheless.
It was a time of high drama.
It was a time of compassionate conservatism.
It was a time of constant loss.
I love the desktop app, it’s always running on my Mac. Ludwig is the best English buddy, it answers my 100 queries per day and stays cool.
Cristina Valenza
Retail Lead Linguist @ Apple Inc.