IS there any more nostalgic sight than a windmill? Memories of these monuments to England's past are prompted by a new book, kicking off Yesterday Once More's survey of the latest additions to the bygones bookshelf. Whitby author Alan Whitworth has produced a comprehensive survey of sail-power in Tyke Towers: Yorkshire Windmills (Landy Publishing, £8).

It is his second book on the subject and was prompted by his discovery of an archive of photographs taken in the 1930s by a Mr Muggeridge. Some of these are included to illustrate Alan's survey of 100 Yorkshire windmills.

His A-Z guide is the product of meticulous research. Many have disappeared completely, like the one at Askham Richard, the ruins of which were swept away during the construction of the village bypass in the mid-1980s. The wooden mill at Hemingbrough, near Selby, was lost in 1913.

Others are still standing in various states of dilapidation. The shell of a brick-built mill, for example, stands in Muston, on the outskirts of Filey.

Some survive having been converted to a new use. The remains of a three-storey brick windmill stands in the yard of Windmill Farm, near Eden Camp War Museum at Malton.

Now used as a farm store, it is said that the sails blew off in a 1906 gale, although the tenant in 1990 told Alan Whitworth that they were dismantled around 1952 "as the clattering frightened the yearling horses".

The surviving mill at Riccall is now a restaurant. Harrison's Mill, in Mill Street, Scarborough, was renovated and turned into a hotel in 1988. Five years ago the present owners added a toy museum.

Yorkshire boasts only one working windmill: Skidby in the Wolds.

Alan lists four locations in York where windmills were found. One stood at the northern end of Burton Stone Lane as far back as the 14th century. Two later windmills in the area were both demolished around 1878.

Heworth was another popular spot for millers. Seven corn windmills were working in the district by 1614. And a windmill stood at the junction of Glen Road and Harcourt Street in 1850.

Heslington Mill is recorded in 1539, although its precise location in the village is unknown. And an artist painted a Heslington windmill in 1933.

Fittingly the book ends with York's only surviving windmill, Holgate Mill. A post-mill first stood on the site in 1366, but the one we can see today dates from 1792, although it stopped production in about 1930.

Last year the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society was formed to rescue and restore it, demonstrating the affection that old mills still inspire.

Moving on, Acomb historian Derek Rayner's latest book reminds us of a very different sort of engineering. Traction Engines And Other Steam Road Engines (Shire Publications, £4.50) is packed with photographs of these magnificent machines alongside Derek's expert commentary.

At the front is a guide to the principle features of the traction engine, so you can become quite the expert at the next steam rally.

Hard Times (Central Publishing, £8.99) is a fictionalised account of life in Yorkshire in 1951. Written by John C Dale, writer and gardening expert, it is dedicated to the late Peter Kincaid Willmott, former head of the horticulture department at Askham Bryan College of Agriculture near York.

Mr Dale paints an evocative picture of life on the land in the days of post-war austerity, and many readers will recognise his characters.

Finally, we come to Ridings High by William Woodrow. This large print book, published by Isis at £17.95 (customer inquiries: 01865 250333), tells of Norfolk-born Mr Woodrow's quest to become a Dalesman.

It is a memoir of an outsider's love of Yorkshire, told in short, anecdotal chapters. From bring and buy sales to ruddy ducks, it recalls the old days and old ways of rural Yorkshire.

Updated: 10:34 Monday, June 17, 2002