Aerial Views Of 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
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
Love the sight of the tiny, newly planted, trees on the Mall.
Amazing! Thank you for sharing them.
Lovely to see these pictures again, I remember being shown similar slides at school, showing us what London had looked like before the war….Valerie
to reveal a vision of the monochrome dirty, misty & ofetn black city lying far beneath
We forget, or don’t know, because we are not old enough, just how DIRTY London used to be – from the coal-smoke from tens of thousands of homes …. In fact, the clarity of some of the photographs is exceptional, & one would not normally expect to see such views in those days.
Thanks for these images, I lost myself in them as well. .
The Cheapside, General Post Office and Guildhall photograph is particularly interesting since it shows the tightly packed little streets to the north of London Wall, later to become the Barbican as a result of the devastation of that whole area in the Blitz.
A friend introduced me to your website …..I look forward to my daily Spitalfields…..thank you I love London and know less about the actual City of London so you’re educating me. Did some research myself at Bishopgate – what a treasure trove. You are amazing.
‘Over the rooftops sails Billy,
A string tied to his underwear,
Through cobbled stone streets a child races,
And shouts, “Billy come down from there”
They must have flown very low to take Peter Pan
Gary
A fine city London, but should the Capital City of the English any longer also be the Capital City for the British? Why does the Capital City for the British continue to divide one of the Countries of the British?
Spectacular!! Thank you.
I looked down the river towards the City from the Embankment earlier today. I felt dismay at how the great iconic buildings are being swamped by the ‘Cheese-grate’, the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ and other monstrous nonentities. These photos show what we have lost. There were many poor buildings that may have needed redevelopment but…….
It’s amazing to see the river busy with so many ships and Hyde Park Corner with so few cars! And like Glen, I can’t get over how young the trees on The Mall look.
Wonderful photographs of yesterday’s London. I can see my old office in the Trooping the Colour one, how very different it looked then!
These images awaken the wearied traveler to take wing and fly again to see the new London while understanding the old London.
An overview gives incredible insight to the minutiae of daily life.
Well done.
These are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.