IT WAS still the Victorian era when these images were captured at Bolton Abbey.

Formally dressed men and women can be seen enjoying the beauty of the estate - or treading a careful path along the stepping stones across the River Wharfe. Children, dressed in their Sunday best, are shown playing on the grass in the shadow of a ruin.

The images, which date back to 1900, were originally taken onto glass slides by prolific Yeadon photographer E E Slater. They can now be viewed in the online archive of Aireborough Historical Society.

A group of people can be seen next to The Strid, said to get its name from the Anglo Saxon word Stryth, which means turmoil or tumolt.

The historical society website says: “This seemingly pretty stream is one of the most deadly stretches of water, the whirlpool currents between the narrow rocky banks will suck the unwary in, strong currents and underwater rocks have proved to be a death trap many times.”

Strid Wood was opened to the public in 1810 by the 6th Duke of Devonshire and the Rev William Carr.

The magnificent Augustinian Priory has dominated the landscape for hundreds of years ever since the land was gifted by Alice de Rumilly in 1154.