Fountains Abbey appears more often in this collection than any other single site. Founded by Cistercian monks in 1132, it grew into one of the wealthiest monasteries in England before its dissolution in 1539, and the ruins later became the centrepiece of the Studley Royal water gardens, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This collection also covers the surrounding Yorkshire Dales, including Wharfedale around Grassington and Burnsall, Wensleydale at Aysgarth, and the waterfall at Stainforth Force.
York is well represented too, with several views of York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, alongside scenes of the city walls and a multiview postcard sending greetings from the city. Ripon, a smaller cathedral city close to Fountains Abbey, appears in its own postcards of Ripon Cathedral and the town's Wakeman ceremony.
Harrogate's postcards reflect its history as a fashionable spa town. The Old Sulphur Well, identified in 1631, became the centre of the town's spa era, reputedly the strongest sulphur spring in Europe, and by the Victorian era visitors were travelling from across the continent to take its waters at the Royal Pump Room, built in 1842. Postcards in this collection show the Montpellier Parade gardens, the Valley Gardens, and Harlow Car Woods, all part of the town's spa-era landscaping.
The rest of the collection takes in Yorkshire's east coast resorts, including Scarborough, Bridlington, Whitby and Filey, alongside the industrial towns of Leeds and Sheffield and outlying villages such as Keighley and Bingley. Postcards from these areas are added to the collection on a regular basis.
