SIX years ago, Ronald Caisley was looking for a hobby. He decided to have a go at collecting postcards. What began as a pastime quickly turned into a passion. "I started collecting postcards from around the country," he explained. "Then I thought I would do this area."

Now Mr Caisley, 59 and semi-retired, attends postcard fairs in London and around Britain, including the big York event held annually at the racecourse. He is always on the lookout for new views of North Yorkshire, particularly pictures of Ryedale villages.

"What attracts me to these postcards is the way they chronicle village life through the years," he said.

"It's nice to get the same view through different eras. My favourites come from the turn of the century; it's fascinating to see how village life comes on."

Every so often, he would come across a postcard showing a scene very familiar to him. His mother Enid came from Settrington; one of his cards shows the village post office with his mother's uncle George Clarkson, standing outside. Mr Clarkson was postmaster from 1929 to 1958.

Mr Caisley was brought up in Barton-le-Street, so he is always keen to snap up views of this village. One, included in the book, shows the house in which he was brought up.

Another shows a school party from long ago. The children, done up to the nines, are pictured in front of a building that he has struggled in vain to identify. Can anyone help with the location?

Mr Caisley, who lives in Norton, now has a collection of 648 postcards, 550 of which have been brought together in his book: Ryedale And Villages.

Why a book? "I just thought there's only me getting enjoyment out of them, and I thought others would too.

"There are books on old pictures of Pickering and Malton, but I don't think there are many books covering the whole area."

Eighteen pages of the 110 in Ryedale And Villages are devoted to Malton and Norton. These capture an era when what is now Malton Museum was the Town Hall; when Birdsall's Tobacconists was in the building occupied today by Linton Animal Foods; and when the Temperance & Commerical Hotel was still thriving and years away from being demolished.

By contrast, the remarkable aspect of many of the village views is how little they have changed. Add some modern cars and TV aerials to some of the scenes and they could date from the start of 21st century, rather than the start of the 20th.

Among the places included in the book are:

Birdsall. In his book, Mr Caisley reveals a romantic story from Birdsall Estate. "This imposing 18th century house replaced an Elizabethan manor house.

"One January in the 18th century, while the house was lived in by the heiress Elizabeth Sotheby, Thomas Willougby, MP for Cambridge, travelling with two of his servants, lost his way in a heavy snowstorm and sought refuge here.

"He later married Miss Sotheby in 1719 and inherited Birdsall in 1729 on the death of her father."

Helmsley. Among the countless thousands to be taken aback by the beauty of the town were the poets William and Dorothy Wordsworth, who stayed in the famous Black Swan Inn. The inn made Dorothy's heart "jump for joy".

Huttons Ambo. They certainly knew how to enjoy themselves in High and Low Hutton. Until the early years of the last century, villagers would gather on Low Hutton Green for the Shepherds' Feast, which lasted two days, complete with swings and a roundabout for the children, and a cricket match. The beer tent had to be guarded overnight.

Kirkham. The village is most famous for its abbey. Legend has it that the priory was founded in the memory of an only son killed when he fell from his horse, the accident happening on the spot where the gatehouse was built.

The priory church, originally a modest Norman building, expanded until it was almost the same length as Beverley Minster.

Pickering. The market town was once home to all manner of customs, as "The North Yorkshire Village Book" recalls.

"On Shrove Tuesday the pancake bell was rung at eleven o'clock heralding the closure of schools and businesses for the day.

"The beginning of July saw all the Church Sunday schools congregated in the Market Place for the annual rail outing to Scarborough, while November saw the gathering of all the local farmers for 'The Hirelings' when all the labour needed for the coming year was hired.

"This was accompanied by the Michaelmas fair with stalls, roundabouts, fortune tellers etc."

Slingsby. Its most imposing buildings are the church, rebuilt in 1868, and the castle ruins. The castle was begun by Sir Charles Cavendish before he fought on the losing side at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. He had to flee for his life.

It is thought that the castle was not completed and never became a home.

Terrington. Another village with long traditions, many of them connected with marriage. On a wedding day, the arrival of the bride and groom would be heralded by the firing of gunpowder on the blacksmith's anvil. If they survived that, and the ceremony, the newlyweds were required to hold the winning tape for a race among villagers along the main street.

The churchyard of All Saints is the last resting place of Richard Spruce, a botanist, who came back with 700 species of plants after an expedition to the Amazon jungle in the mid-19th century.

Thornton-le-Dale. It was a hive of activity. In Stuart times, many cottages had weaving looms. Corn milling, spinning and bleaching all took place in Thornton-le-Dale; and both shoemaking and tailoring flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The village cross was the place where an annual tribute of 1,500 red herring and 1,500 white herring was handed from the Abbot of Whitby to the hospitallers of St Leonard's in York.

Ryedale And Villages by Ronald Caisley costs £9.99. It is available in the Barbican Bookshop and Borders in York; at Hopper's, JR Leefe & Sons and White Rose Books in Malton; and at various village outlets in the area

Updated: 10:49 Monday, January 14, 2002