Valued Aerial Exposures (Britain)

Britain from the air in times gone by The Aerofilms Collection is a collection of historical aerial photographs, now owned by English Heritage, which dates back to 1919. A project is currently underway to digitise the oldest and most important images, with many expected to be viewable online by the end of the year. This picture shows the British Empire Exhibition in June 1924 at Wembley, Middlesex - the largest exhibition ever staged in the world at the time. Many of the buildings created for the exhibition have been demolished, but the "Empire Pool" can still be seen today - it was converted into Wembley Arena. An aerial view of Blackpool in 1920. Shortly after this picture was taken, all the steelwork in the seaside's resort's famous tower began to be renewed, as it had drastically corroded since the tower was built in 1894. Liverpool Pier Head in 1920, featuring the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building (known collectively as the "Three Graces"). While those three buildings can still be seen today, much of the housing behind the buildings has disappeared, to be replaced with high-rise office blocks. An aerial view of St Paul's cathedral, taken in October 1947. The cathedral managed to survive the Blitz almost intact, but the damage caused by bombs around it can clearly be seen. An amazing aerial view of a housing estate built by John Laing & Co in North London, near the Brent Cross Shopping Centre, taken in June 1930. "Attractive new housing estates were a source of pride for house builders," says English Heritage. The Austin Motor Plant in Longbridge, Birmingham in June 1935. Once the largest manufacturing plant in the world, much of the Longbridge industrial site has now been demolished. The University of Birmingham, in Edgbaston, photographed in September 1938. The semi-circular plan of the university is far less clear when viewed from above today, as the countryside which surrounds it in this picture is now filled with other university buildings and houses. A photograph of the old Wembley stadium under construction, taken on September 5 1922. The stadium was built for the British Empire Exhibition and lasted until it was demolished in 2003. The HMT Queen Mary in Southampton 1946, between round trips to Halifax, Nova Scotia and New York. The ship carried many war brides to the US in 1946 - after being demobilised in September, it was refitted as the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary in July 1947. Brighton's West Pier, photographed on April 17 1949. The pier, which was built in 1866, was partially closed to the public in 1970s due to safety concerns, and suffered severe fire damage in 2003. Coventry Cathedral pictured in 1949, nine years after it was destroyed by bombs during World War Two. The cathedral is surrounded by empty plots of land where other buildings were destroyed. An aerial view of flooding in the Windsor area, 1947. The Thames floods of this year, caused by abnormally high rainfall, were the worst flooding of the River Thames in the 20th century. The damage cost an estimated £12 million to repair. An aerial photograph of Greenland Dock, Rotherhithe, London's oldest riverside dock, taken in June 1958. The commercial docks closed inthe 1970s, and the site is now mainly residential. A 1924 photograph showing Earle's Cement Works, Wilmington, Hull. The cement works was founded in 1821, but has now been demolished.

__,_._,___