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
Indeed, the photos clearly show the magnificence of the lovely metropolis of London. I was also very impressed at the time of my first visit in 1978.
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Wonderful images! What a magnificent city, even with its many changes over the years, that so many of us can call home, or at the minimum ‘home of my birth’. Before retirement, I used to travel a lot through work, and it never failed to thrill me when the plane flew over London on its way to Heathrow.
Absolutely fascinating. Thank you. Look how low level the city was. What a shame it had to shoot upwards.
Wonderful. And quite heartbreaking to see quantity of destruction wrought in the past century. Hyde Park Corner was stunning, as was St Katherine’s Docks. Thank you for these.
As you said, absolutely fascinating. Thank you, dear G.A.
Do you by any chance have dates for the two images which show the” Albert Hall & Natural History Museum” and the “Natural History Museum and the Victoria &Albert Museum”?
There’s quite a discrepancy between each of the two buildings in these images – the latter image is pretty much identical to the appearance of those buildings today.
Greetings from Boston,
GA, thanks for the great bygone aerial views of the city. Missing London today, as always…
Thank you for these fantastic photos. Yes certainly there is an ambivalence and I think it comes from where you are looking at the scenes . For me rather than evoking sense of patriotism, it evokes a sense of continuity and pride in being a working class Londoner whose friends and family have helped over the last century in the functioning of the city. I can see the places that my father and grandfathers worked and laboured . I can see the streets that echoed to the sound of their footsteps
Another brilliant article & photos. Thanks
Yes, wonderful images of a magnificent city. I am proud to say that I was born in London, although I only spent the first few days of my life there. Some of my ancestors were born, lived and worked in London. It is 3 or 4 years since I visited the city, hopefully I will visit next year. Thank you so much for the images.
It would be helpful to know when these pictures were taken.