Skelton residents are the latest to mark the Millennium by exploring the history of their village.

As part of its year 2000 celebrations, an exhibition is being mounted this weekend called Skelton - Past and Present.

Four miles north of York city centre, Skelton lies close to the busy A19. Somehow, however, the village has managed to retain its tranquil charm.

The North Yorkshire Village Book, compiled by the North Yorkshire Federation of Women's Institutes, records how Skelton remained a tiny settlement until relatively recently. "Skelton folk say that the village used to start at the Blacksmith's Arms and finish at the school, but that was in the days when there were only 12 children and the village water supply was six standpipes at strategic points."

Today villagers are protected from the bustle of passing traffic by houses and the pub, the Blacksmith's Arms. That means its ancient church, St Giles, still enjoys peace and quiet.

Completed in 1247 in early English style, legend has it that St Giles was built of the stone left over from the transepts of York Minster by the masons who worked on the great cathedral.

While the Minster is the largest Gothic church in Europe, St Giles is on a far more modest scale. It is only 44ft long with enough room for just 89 people. That did not prevent the great writer on architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner, from describing it as "an amazing building".

The church was previously known as All Saints, being dedicated to St Giles only since 1960. The first priest of Skelton, Robert de Ledes, was given an annuity of 20d in 1247 by the treasurer of the Minster, Roger Haget. Skelton's church registers are among the oldest in the country, dating from 1538, the first year they were required to be kept.

A map of the village from the 1600s was rediscovered in 1984. It was compiled to define boundaries after King Charles I took away the status of the Royal Forest of Galtres and gave the land to villages including Easingwold, Shipton, Skelton and Sutton.

The map includes the site of the Blacksmith's Arms, then called Smethybalke, which means blacksmith's field.

Skelton expanded during the 19th century when cottages for farm labourers were built as well as some larger houses. One of these was The Grange. This was home of the Place family, who lived here for six generations. Since demolished, its name lived on in Arthur Place, the cul-de-sac where it stood.

One of the most familiar Skelton landmarks is the Fairfield Manor Hotel. This is steeped in history. The early Georgian mansion around which the hotel has grown once had its own stables and formed the centre of a large estate.

Fairfield Manor was bought by Earl de Grey in 1874 for £15,500 and later became the home to a number of other distinguished families.

The main photograph, above, shows the heart of the village. It is reproduced from a late-1800s picture postcard showing Crookhill Green and the village pond. But this idyllic scene has changed totally.

The cottages to the left of the photo, had they survived, would no doubt now be described by estate agents as "desirable period properties". They were known as Penfold Cottages as they were next to the village penfold - a brick-built enclosure, seen on the extreme left, in which stray cattle and sheep were enclosed until claimed by their owner on payment of a fine.

This charming picture, carefully composed by a skilful photographer, captured the old and young of Victorian Skelton. An elderly, bearded villager sits outside his cottage doing some embroidery to pass a sunny summer's day. Behind him young children can be seen walking to the village school, behind the high wall, in their white linen pinafore dresses.

To the right is the village pond. For many centuries this was the last watering place for cattle and sheep being driven to York cattle market from as far away as Helmsley and was in use until the mid-20th century.

Unfortunately the cottages were demolished in the 1930s in favour of council housing and the village pond was filled in during the late Seventies after becoming a dumping ground for cycles, prams and other unwanted items.

So this picture records for posterity a scene of village life that has been lost forever. It will be one of many photographs, illustrations, documents and maps gathered by the Skelton History Group for their exhibition.

This will demonstrate how life has changed. The group intends to preserve this history for future generations in the form of an archive.

Something of a mystery was thrown up by the group's researchers when they came across pictures of a Wild West show. Skelton villagers are seen dressed up as cowboys and Indians taking part in camp-fire scenes with horses, guns and elaborate costumes.

The problem is that no one in present day Skelton seems to know when this took place, why it was arranged and who was involved in the pictures.

The photograph below shows the 'cowboy' side of the community, with one Indian sneaking into the frame. Some of them, presumably local farmers or land-owners, are on horseback.

These pictures and others in the exhibition have been repaired or enhanced using modern computer techniques by villager and historian Peter Stanhope. He would love to hear from anyone who can shed some light on the great cowboy mystery. He can be contacted on (01904) 471800.

Skelton History Group invites all present-day villagers, those who have moved away over the years and anyone else who is interested, to its exhibition. It should bring back happy memories of times gone by.

Skelton - Past and Present is at Skelton Village Hall next Saturday from 11am to 5pm and on Sunday, June 25, from 11am to 4pm. Admission is free

PICTURE - GUNS AND POSES: but who are these Skelton villagers, and why are they playing cowboys and Indians?