Looking Down On Old London
In my dream, I am flying over old London and the clouds part like curtains to reveal a vision of the dirty monochrome city lying far beneath, swathed eternally in mist and deep shadow.
Although most Londoners are familiar with this view today, as the first glimpse of home on the descent to Heathrow upon their return flight from overseas, it never ceases to induce wonder. So I can only imagine the awe of those who were first shown these glass slides of aerial views from the collection of the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society at the Bishopsgate Institute a century ago.
Even before Aerofilms was established in 1919 to document the country from above systematically, people were photographing London from hot air balloons, zeppelins and early aeroplanes. Upon first impression, the intricate detail and order of the city is breathtaking and I think we may assume that a certain patriotic pride was encouraged by these views of national landmarks which symbolised the political power of the nation.
But there is also a certain ambivalence to some images, such as those of Horseguards’ Parade and Covent Garden Market, since – as much as they record the vast numbers of people that participated in these elaborate human endeavours, they also reduce the hordes to mere ants and remove the authoritative scale of the architecture. Seen from above, the works of man are of far less consequence than they appear from below. Yet this does not lessen my fascination with these pictures, as evocations of the teeming life of this London that is so familiar and mysterious in equal measure.
Tower of London & Tower Bridge
Trafalgar Sq, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Charing Cross Station
Trafalgar Sq & Whitehall
House of Parliament & Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge & County Hall
Tower of London & St Katharine Docks
Bank of England & Royal Exchange
Spires of City churches dominate the City of London
Crossroads at the heart of the City of London
Guildhall to the right, General Post Office to the left and Cheapside running across the picture
Blackfriars Bridge & St Paul’s
Hyde Park Corner
Buckingham Palace & the Mall
The British Museum
St James’ Palace & the Mall
Ludgate Hill & St Paul’s
Pool of London & Tower Bridge with Docks beyond
Albert Hall & Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum & Victoria & Albert Museum
Limehouse with St Anne’s in the centre & Narrow St to the right
Reversed image of Hungerford Bridge & Waterloo Bridge
Covent Garden Market & the Floral Hall
Admiralty Arch
Trooping the Colour at Horseguards Parade
St Clement Dane’s, Strand
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
Glass slides courtesy Bishopsgate Institute
You may also like to take a look at
The Lantern Slides of Old London
The High Days & Holidays of Old London
The Fogs & Smogs of Old London
The Forgotten Corners of Old London
The Statues & Effigies of Old London
I could peer into these photos all day – marvellous! Despite the Great Fire, the City’s mediaeval street pattern was still clear before the Luftwaffe and developers went after it. And the churches! Wasn’t it so much better when God looked down on Mammon than the other way ’round?
Very magical!
Wonderful photos, so good to see London without all of the modern monstrosities. Valerie
Yes I know the flight over London into Heathrow quit well. That magnificent view of the City never fails to fill me with a sudden rush of delight and a tug at the heart of pride, removing any feelings of sadness I may have had at leaving behind the last destination of foreign wonders. These aerial photographs of London put in perspective the beauty of the City of how it used to be. Makes me take out my art materials to draw all those lines, boxes and spirals and fill out those famous shapes with vibrant colour. I would like to see these photographs in a book,
The Areal View of Old London would be nice.
I have an aerofilms shot of our house in the 1930s, it is so fascinating to see what our area was like and I can’t help feeling nostalgic.
Yes GA, it might have been a bit dirty in those days, but at least it wasn’t covered in glass phalluses.
I remember when the sandblasting was taking place, it was a revelation, but it was also a slight concern, since we were given to understand that along with the dirt came bits of the buildings themselves. It was pretty crude technology.
Do you have a date for these incredible images? I guess between the wars? Thanks you.
Lovely to see familiar sights from a different angle.
To look at these photos is to feel a deep sense of loss. To look at London’s skyline and see only church spires would have been so wonderful.
Greetings from Boston,
GA, fabulous old photos. Particularly enjoyed seeing St. Paul’s cathedral outline in the form of a cross …
Wonderful images that show the tallest buildings in the city were the church spires not the hideous vanity projects that we now have to endure.
This was a wonderful viewing. Many of these images are not usually seen since they obviously date to a century ago.
The first image of St Paul’s cathedral, for example, is now often seen very differently in the context of a photograph surrounding smoke/fire in the Second World War. This one instead is a good insight – almost challenging some of the images we generally bring to our memory.
Such smoky ‘memory’, say of St Paul’s, doesn’t always exist as part of our own wartime experience since not of all us were alive at that time! But we will still tend to remember such a timed past . The images you have presented here are an interesting and important challenge!
Love these photographs. Love London, have lived elsewhere, but nothing compares to London. Fascinated by the remnants of the past that cling to the architecture and the layout even beyond the monuments and the tourist attractions. There are still secrets to be revealed I am certain.
I feel sad to see all of those wonderful church spires. What Hitler failed to destroy, profit has hidden. I remember walking the streets of London and navigating my way by the church spires. It was a a magical city then.
Great stuff!
As others have pointed out – so nice to see photos of london without all the hideous new buildings and post war planning vandalism
Wonderful images, thank you so much.
Thank you for showing these photos. I have seen film footage of London in WW2 in the past, and it is a jolt to see London with all the church steeples being the stand-out landmarks. I am also just returned from Paris, and having done the trip up the Eiffel Tower, and seeing all that city’s treasures so clearly on show it does make one wonder about ‘progress’. But ideas of beauty change. Maybe in another century the Shard and the glass towers of the City will be more revered the older buildings standing in their shadows. Ultimately, its the stories writers such as yourself, wrap around our spaces that decide what stands the test of time. Thank you for finding and sharing them.
Wonderful images, and as I remember the iconic buildings from my childhood, and not dwarfed my skyscrapers.
However, I love much of the modern architecture now in London, so just grateful I both remember the past, but love the present too.
Interesting to see the transition from horse-drawn to motor vehicles. Very clear in the photograph of St Clement Danes, but also Admiralty Arch.