This extraordinary photograph, taken by the eminent photographer William Hayes in the early 1900s, shows some children playing near Monk Bridge, which at the time carried the main road to Scarborough (and Heworth) over the River Foss.

A horse and carriage can be seen on the bridge: and the Heworth gasworks (much in the news, recently, because of plans to redevelop the site) can be seen in the background. The building above the bridge just to the left was, at one time, the Woodsman Inn.

William Hayes was a noted Victorian photographer from York. In 1911, he moved to the small village of Hutton-le-Hole in the North York Moors. The Ryedale Folk Museum has an extensive collection of his remarkable photographs, many showing rural scenes. This picture, however, comes from Explore York Libraries and Archives.

Stephen Lewis