In pictures: London street scenes then and now
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1 - The Streetmuseum
App 2.0 from the Museum of London gives the user a chance to explore how
locations across the capital looked in times gone by. Hundreds of images are
visible through the app, showcasing London's history, from the Great Fire of
1666 through to the Swinging Sixties.
Here: A street seller of sherbert and water is photographed
on Cheapside in 1893, completely unaware of the camera. Paul Martin was the
first photographer to roam around the streets of London with a disguised camera
taking candid pictures such as this solely for the purpose of showing 'life as
it is'.
Picture: Paul Martin
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2 - View of Duncannon
Street near Charing Cross in 1902, decorated with bunting and banners for the
coronation ceremony of Edward VII. There are pedestrians and vehicles in the
foreground and the National Gallery is visible in the distance
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3 - George Davison
Reid took this photo of Blackfriars station entrance from outside 179 Queen
Victoria Street around 1930. The station was originally called St Paul's and
was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1886. Above the station
were the premises of Oppenheimer Son and Co Limited, which manufactured
pharmaceutical specialities. The Times newspaper was also based here in Queen
Victoria Street. A decade or so after Reid photographed this exterior, the
station was bombed in the Blitz of 1940 and largely destroyed. The offices of
The Times newspaper were also hit.
Picture: George Davison Reid
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4 - A view of Bow Lane circa 1930, off Cheapside in the City
of London, looking south to the crossing with Watling Street and St. Mary
Aldermary in the middle distance. 'Ye Olde Watling' tavern was originally built
just after the Great Fire of 1666. George Davison Reid supported the Society of
Antiquaries of London, which promoted the study of London's architecture, and
was interested in photographing older architecture and locations. He took this
photo of Bow Lane in the late 1920s.
Picture: George Davison Reid
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5 - A view of the forecourt of the Southern Railway's
terminus at London Bridge circa 1930. This was the oldest railway terminus in
London, having been built for the line linking London and Greenwich in 1836.
Picture: George Davison Reid
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6 - From the west
side of Tower Bridge, George Davison Reid composed this photo looking out
across the Upper Pool circa 1930. This image is atypical of Reid's work, being
a posed shot. The children appeared in other photos at different riverside
locations. It has been suggested that some of the girls could be Reid's
daughters.
Picture: George Davison Reid
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7 - Charing Cross Road is renowned for its specialist and
second-hand bookshops. Wolf Suschitzky was attracted by the extensive array of
second-hand bookshops and teahouses, and the crowds that flocked to them. The
resulting series of photographs, circa 1935, are amongst Suschitzky's most
acclaimed work.
Picture: Wolf Suschitzky/Museum of London
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8 - This photograph
shows Byward Street near Tower Hill circa 1930, looking west with the church of
All Hallows by the tower on the left and the former Mark Lane Underground
station on the right. George Davison Reid photographed the streets and
buildings of London and the activity in them in the 1920s and 1930s.
Picture: George Davison Reid
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9 - Boy shining shoes outside the Tea Room at Victoria
station in
Picture: Henry Grant
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10 - Piccadilly Circus, Coronation day, June 1953. Crowds
gather to witness the Coronation procession of Elizabeth II. The coronation
went ahead in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, and at the Queen's request, the
entire ceremony was televised throughout the Commonwealth, and watched by an
estimated twenty million people.
Picture: Wolf Suschitzky/Museum of London
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11 - People
sunbathing in Hyde Park in 1956, with Marble Arch and the Odeon cinema in the
background. The attendant is selling tickets for the deckchairs which are
available for hire in the park. The Odeon which was originally a 'Regal'
cinema, opened in 1928. The facade of the building was made from Portland Stone
and featured columns and statues however in 1964 it was thought too small and
the building was demolished and a larger cinema complex was built in its place.
Picture: Henry Grant
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12 - Oxford Street
circa 1903. Horse-drawn Hansom cabs dominate the traffic.
Picture: Christina Broom
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13 - Street scene at
Covent Garden circa 1930 with underground station and horse and cart in the
background. George Davison Reid photographed activity in the marketplace from
opposite Covent Garden Underground station on Long Acre. A police constable was
often needed to control the congestion of the horses and carts and increasing
numbers of motorised vehicles. The long established market place was under
pressure to move. The congested facilities were described at the time as
'altogether inadequate to the necessities of the trade'. However, the fruit and
vegetable market did not relocate until 1973.
Picture: George Davison reid
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14 - A night shot
outside the Palace Theatre before an evening's performance in 1958. The Frankie
Vaughan Season ran from 20 January to 16 February 1958 and included Vaughan as
the headliner and artists such as Petula Clark, who was to sing her latest
hits. Bob Collins created a number of night-time photographs playing with the
bright lights of the West End to record people enjoying the buzz of fifties
nightlife.
Picture: Bob Collins
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15 - The exterior of
the completed Gloucester Road Station on the underground Metropolitan and
District Railway, which was opened on 3rd October 1868. From a series of 64
photographs taken in the late 1860s by Henry Flather to document the
construction of the railway from Paddington to Blackfriars via Kensington,
Westminster and the new Victoria Embankment. Construction was by the
'cut-and-cover' method used to build the first underground railways before the
development of the tunneling shield by James Henry Greathead . The first
tunneled, or 'tube', railway in London was the City & South London Line,
which opened in 1890.
Picture: Henry Flather
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16 - This 1957
photograph captures the view north up Brick Lane in Spitalfields, close to the
markets. Some of the textile businesses can be seen. Bengali migrants began to
arrive in the area from the late 1950s onwards.
Picture: Roger Mayne/Museum of London
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