There is a unique magic to holding a 35mm slide up to the light. It’s a tiny, suspended square of time—a moment captured in silver halides that hasn't been seen, perhaps, for decades.
As a collector of vintage photography, I often stumble upon these little windows into the past. Recently, I acquired a small set labelled simply: "Fountains Abbey, September 1975."
Today, Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire is a slick, well-oiled machine of heritage tourism. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, managed by the National Trust and English Heritage. But what did it look like half a century ago, before the visitor centres and the designated World Heritage status?
Let’s load the carousel and take a trip back to the autumn of 1975.
The Gothic Giants
The first slide captures the sheer scale of the Cistercian engineering. This view, likely of the Chapel of the Nine Altars, shows the towering lancet windows reaching up to a sky that looks distinctly 1970s blue.
What strikes me most about this image is the light. Slide film from this era had a specific way of rendering contrast—deep, crushing shadows and vibrant, almost painterly greens.
Historically, 1975 is an interesting year for the Abbey. While the State had purchased the Abbey ruins in 1966, the surrounding Studley Royal estate wasn't acquired by the National Trust until 1983. In 1975, this site was managed by the Department of the Environment. You get a sense here of a site that is maintained, yet quiet. There are no crowds in the frame, just the silent, hulking skeletons of the monastic past.
A Wilder Ruin
This second slide offers a fascinating detail that you might not see today. Look closely at the top of the jagged masonry. You can see tufts of grass and vegetation clinging to the high stones.
In modern conservation, this is often known as "soft capping," but back in the 70s, ruins were often allowed to be a little more "romantic" and wild. Today, stonemasons and conservationists work tirelessly to keep invasive roots out of the mortar to prevent the structure from toppling.
This image captures the texture of the dissolution. When Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, the lead was stripped from the roofs and the stone was quarried for other buildings. What we see here is the slow, centuries-long battle between the stone and the reclaiming nature of the Skell Valley.
Framing the Past
The unknown photographer who took these slides in 1975 had a keen eye for composition. This is my favourite of the set. By using the dark, heavy masonry of a doorway in the foreground, they have framed the sunlit tower in the distance perfectly.
It creates a sense of depth and mystery. It reminds us that Fountains Abbey isn't just one building, but a sprawling complex of dormitories, refectories, and cellariums.
The 1975 Context
When these photos were taken in September 1975:
Pink Floyd had just released Wish You Were Here.
The UK was experiencing a warm end to the summer.
Fountains Abbey was still 11 years away from becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Viewing these places through the medium of 35mm slides adds a layer of nostalgia that digital photography simply cannot replicate. There is a grain, a texture, and a colour palette that roots these images firmly in their time.
These slides might have sat in a box in someone’s attic for forty years, but projected here on the screen, the sun shines on the Yorkshire stone just as brightly as it did on that September afternoon.
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