We have photographs from a town, two villages and one very small city near York for you today.

First up, that city. It's Ripon, and our photo (top) shows the Ripon Hornblower blowing his horn. Very smart he looks, too, in his three-cornered hat and neat collared coat.

To this day, the horn is blown at 9pm each night in each of the four corners of Ripon marketplace to officially 'set the watch'.

It's a tradition that reputedly dates back to the year 866, when King Alfred the Great visited the city. He granted the people of Ripon a Royal Charter - and presented them with a horn to symbolise it. The Ripon Hornblower website takes up the story...

"It was at that time he (Alfred) told the people of Ripon that they should be vigilant as the Vikings were still a threat...He suggested that they appoint a 'Wakeman'. The 'Wakeman' would be a man who stayed awake and patrolled the area all through the hours of darkness keeping a watchful eye while others sleep safely in their beds.

"So they appointed a 'Wakeman', and they further decided that he could put the horn to good use. He would sound the horn at the four corners of the market cross at 9pm each evening to let the people know that the 'watch' was 'set' and they could retreat to their homes knowing full well that it was safe for sleeping."

There's no date on our photograph, sadly. We suspect it doesn't date back to 866AD, but from the (dis)colouration and the formal style of the pose, we'd guess it is a hundred years old or more. The last official Ripon Hornblower was George Pickles, who held the post from 2003 to 2015. According to the Ripon Hornblower website, the horn-blowing duties are now performed by a team of deputies on a job share basis.

Next up, the villages. One is Seaton Ross in East Yorkshire. We have a great photo in our archives showing the five-sailed 'old mill', with a chimney in the background, in 1949.

York Press:

The old mill, Seaton Ross, in September 1949

We don't think this is the mill that went on the market a couple of years ago with a £1.7 million price-tag: we think that was the new mill. But we stand to be corrected.

Our second village photo is closer to York. It shows the post office at Skelton at the turn of the last century, with a woman sitting in a horse-drawn carriage outside.

York Press:

Skelton post office at the turn of the last century

And finally, the town: Tadcaster. We've dug out of our archives two great photos showing the Tadcaster Tower Brewery. Again, there is no date for these pictures. The brewery today (now Coors) looks very different. We'd love to hear from anyone who knows the date of these photographs. Presumably they were taken before the brewery was bought by Hammonds in 1946...

York Press:

York Press:

Two views of the Tadcaster Tower Brewery