In June 1911, an unknown stereographer travelled to North Yorkshire and booked in to the newly-opened Ripon Spa Hotel as part of a small group.
In their sights were a number of historic architectural attractions within easy reach.
As described in last week’s Pressphotoman post, the atmospheric ruins of Fountains Abbey near Ripon provided the perfect backdrop for a sequence of well-executed 3D ‘views.’
Fountains Abbey blogpost – 1st June 2026
Perhaps the most effective of the stereos captured during the trip featured the vaulted Cellarium.
It was here, amid the splendid play of sunlight on stone, that food was stored by the resident Cistercian monks.
The June 1911 stereoscopic trip also took in the neighbouring Studley Royal Water Gardens that today form part of a UNESCO World Heritage site in this stereo titled ‘Octagon Tower Peep.’
If our unknown stereographer and their companions had a passion for ruined Cistercian buildings, then they were in the right place.
Only 15 miles away was Jervaulx Abbey.
Privately owned since 1971, it is the largest such building in private hands in England.
As regular readers of this blogpost may be aware, both Fountains and Jervaulx were stereographed during the 1890s by pioneering Fleet Street photographer James Edward Ellam (1857-1920).
Looking at this selection of ‘views,’ both stereographers have succeeded in capturing the magic of their subjects.
Next week in the final part of this ‘Road Trip’ series, our unknown stereographer captures the celebrations in Ripon on Coronation Day 1911 when King George V and Queen Mary were crowned in Westminster Abbey.
Pressphotoman 
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