Scarborough, Grand Hotel, Yorkshire, England (1890-1900). Public domain / mediadrumworld.com

By Liana Jacob

SENSATIONAL coloured photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth century expose the beauty of Yorkshire just in time for Yorkshire Day on the First of August.

From Bridlington beach to Robin Hood Bay in Whitby, the images highlight the history of the UK’s largest county, including Flamborough lighthouse, Malham Tarn and Whitby pier.

Flamborough, lighthouse, Yorkshire, England (1890-1900). Public domain / mediadrumworld.com

Other images include the popular touristic spa in Scarborough, the clear blue waters of the Ribble at Horton and the majestic landscape of Skipton Castle.

Within Yorkshire are areas that are commonly considered to be among the greenest in England, due to the vast stretches of unspoilt countryside in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors.

Giggleswick scar (1890-1900). Public domain / mediadrumworld.com

Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed ‘God’s Own County’ or ‘God’s Own Country’.

The symbol for Yorkshire is the white rose of the English royal House of York and most frequently used flag representative of Yorkshire is the White Rose on a blue background.

Ingleton, Beesley Falls, Yorkshire, England (1890-1900). Public domain / mediadrumworld.com

The origins of the symbol date way back to the fourteenth century, to Edmund of Langley, the first Duke of York and the founder of the House of York as a cadet branch of the then ruling House of Plantagenet.

The meaning behind the rose has religious connotations as it represents the Virgin Mary, who is often called the Mystical Rose of Heaven.

Whitby, the pier, Yorkshire, England (1890-1900). Public domain / mediadrumworld.com

Yorkshire Day has been celebrated since 1975, by the Yorkshire Ridings Society, as a protest against the Local Government re-organisation of 1974, which dissolved the old County of Yorkshire as an administrative body.

Instead, it was subdivided into four new counties, those being North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Bridlington, the harbor, from south pier, Yorkshire, England (1890-1900). Public domain / mediadrumworld.com