In Long Forgotten London
The six volumes of Walter Thornbury’s London Old & New, filled with richly detailed engravings, prove irresistible to me for compelling visions of a city I barely recognise. Published in the eighteen-seventies, they evoke a London that had passed away at the beginning of the century and contrast this with the recent wonders of the Victorian age which prefigure the city we know today.
Entrance to the Clerkenwell tunnel
Hackney, looking towards the church in 1840
Columbia Market, Bethnal Green
Crown & Sceptre Inn, Greenwich
St Dunstan-in-the-East
Kensington High St in 1860
Primrose Hill in 1780
The Tower subway under the Thames
Bunhill Fields
Red Cow Inn, Hammersmith
Chelsea Bun House in 1810
River Fleet at St Pancras in 1825
Rotunda in Blackfriars Rd, 1820
Somers Town Dust Heaps in 1836
The Old Cock Tavern, Westminster
Seven Sisters in 1830
Highgate Cemetery
Magnetic Clock at Greenwich
Great Equatorial Telescope in the Dome at Greenwich
Searle’s Boatyard at Bankside, 1830
Bridgefoot, Southwark in 1810
Sights of old Hackney 1. Brook House 1765 2. Barber’s Barn 1750 3. Shore Place 1736
Izaak Walton’s River Lea 1. Ferry House 2. Tottenham Church from the Lea 3. Tumbling Weir 4. Fishing Cottage 5. Tottenham Lock
Images courtesy Bishopsgate Institute
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These engravings are wonderfully evocative. I imagine Dickens visiting the Somers Town dust heaps while writing Our Mutual Friend.
I love your blog… I look forward to the pictures of old London
Thank you for hours of happy reading
Best
The very first illustration makes one wonder as to how accurate any of the rest are.
There was never, ever a locomotive like the one shown in the bottom of that picture….
These are fab – especially the architectural drawings – and new to me. More please.
Wonderful images that really convey the fact that modern London is made from many small villages. Primrose Hill looks as if it really was a primrose covered hill. The only image that we would recognise today is Highgate cemetery.
Beautiful engravings.
The seven trees from where the name for the Seven Sisters area comes from – lovely, I have never seen a picture before.
I know so many of these places. Sadly no longer so inspiring. Who is brave enough to set about restoring them to what they once were? Alright maybe with a few mobile phone masts here and there. Just a passing thought.
Thank you for these wonderful images! I wish the artists of our great-grandparents’ time could know how much pleasure their work is giving, so many years later. Interesting that Seven Sisters was named for those seven beautiful oaks – I never knew. Please give us more of these lovely engravings!
Wonderful, wonderful books, nothing would make me part with mine. I love the illustrations and the text is a mine of historical information about every aspect of London life at the time. They are a treasure trove indeed and I shall be getting mine out and reading more while I am forced to stay at home, thank you GA for reminding me.
Thank You for these Beautiful Paintings of the Vintage Time. I Love Them!!???????
I could look at these forever…so amazing and helpful for me imagining where my ancestors lived….thanks so much for sharing! Will have to explore the book for myself as well as keep visiting your site 🙂