IF you have a family member who loves local history, you needn’t be stuck for ideas when it comes to Christmas gifts this year.

A succession of superb local history books has come out in the past few weeks, in perfect time for the Christmas market.

Leading the way has been Paul Chrystal, owner of the Knaresborough bookshop. Paul, who lives in Haxby, is a collector of old photographs. And he has teamed up with freelance photographer Mark Sunderland to produce a series of ‘then and now’ and ‘through time’ books of local history, in which old photographs are juxtaposed alongside modern photos taken from the same point, to show how things have changed down the years.

York Then & Now (The History Press, £12.99), which contain almost 100 stunning photographs of York old and new, was featured on these pages a couple of weeks ago. Since then three more books have appeared from the Paul and Mark stable, all published by Amberley. North York Moors Through Time (£14.99) is a beautiful examination of the changing face of the towns and villages in and around the North York Moors. Tadcaster Through Time (£14.99) does the same for the brewery town, while Northallerton Through Time (£14.99) focuses on the market town at the northern end of North Yorkshire.

Discovering New Earswick by Elisabeth Alley (The Ebor Press, £6.50) brings together a series of articles that Elisabeth and others wrote for the New Earswick Bulletin. Elisabeth and Ray Alley came to live in the village in 1998, and Elisabeth’s articles on topics of local interest soon became a regular monthly feature in the Bulletin.

The book is available from the parish council or from New Earswick Folk hall, with proceeds going to the New Earswick Community Association.

Discovering Dringhouses: Aspects Of A Village History (£8.95), researched, written and published by the Dringhouses Local History Group, is a fascinating account of the more than 2,000 year history of this ancient settlement, beginning with an account of the Neolithic trade route that ran north-east/south west through the village and finishing with a moving tribute to those villagers who gave their lives in two world wars. Featured in this newspaper’s Yesterday Once More pages recently, it is available from the Barbican Bookshop, or direct from the Dringhouses Local History Group on 01904 705340 or 703970.

Van Wilson’s The Best Years Of Our Lives (York Archaeological Trust: Oral History Series, £9.99) has also featured in The Press more than once. But it is such a wonderful book we make no apologies for mentioning it again. It is a collection of memories of schooldays in York, covering all the city’s secondary schools, grammar and secondary modern alike, between 1900 and 1985. Want to know what your classmates thought of your favourite (or least favourite) teacher? Here’s the place to start.

And finally, From Coppenthorpe to Copmanthorpe: Aspects Of Life In An Ainsty Village (South Ainsty Archaeological Society, (£15 hardback, £12 softback), available from the Barbican Bookshop or post office and newsagents in Copmanthorpe.

This is a sumptuous, beautifully produced book that tells the story of this village to the south of York from the earliest times right up to the present day.

There are chapters on early history, Copmathorpe in the middle ages, agriculture in Copmanthorpe, Copmanthorpe at war, changes in village life between 1600-1900, and much more.

The research is thorough, the recreation of past lives – such as that of Thomas Jeffreyson, a yeoman who made his will in 1558 during the reign of Queen Mary – quite stunning.