Our heritage in pictures
A besuited gentleman labours behind the clock face of Big Ben; a flock of sheep is herded through a quiet Yorkshire town; a tandem cyclist (his partner mysteriously absent) takes a break beside a windmill – just some of the remarkable images brought together to celebrate the work of English Heritage.
1. Maintenance of the Big Ben clockface 2. Odeon Leicester Square opened in November 1937. The first film shown was The Prisoner Of Zenda 3. A shepherd moves his flock through Helmsley in North Yorkshire, 1954
Although many know the organisation as a custodian of some of our finest historic sites, English Heritage also oversees an archive containing more than 12 million images, drawings and documents. Now, 100 of them have been selected to appear in a book, 100 Postcards Of Our Past.
4. A pram on the pavement outside a house in Swedenborg square, Stepney, photographer by Eric de Mare, c. 1950s 5. Women sitting on stone steps in Hellidon, Northamptonshire, photographed by Alfred Newton, c. 1900s 6. Spectators watch a footbal match in 1961 in Victoria Park, London. Photograph by Laurence Goldman
Representing some of the best black-and-white images from the late 19th century until the 1960s, they were taken by such celebrated photographers as Henry Taunt, Eric de Mare and John Gay, and offer a vivid glimpse of everyday life in times past.
7. This 19th-century view shows Covent Garden asa bustling fruit and vegetable market 8. This photograph of the flying Scotsman outside King's Cross station was taken by John Gay in 1948 9. A horse-drawn bus outside the Bull Hotel in Burford. The photography was taken by Henry Taunt, 1860-1922
LP Hartley wrote that the past is a foreign country and the Britain captured in these images certainly seems a very different place. As well as offering a snapshot of changing fashions, they also evoke an age free from traffic jams, mobile phones and emails.
10. A street view of Ludgate Circus looking towards St Paul's Cathedral with horse-drawn buses in the foreground and a steam train on the bridge. A late 19th-century photograph by York and Son 11. Hallam Ashley took this photograph of fishing boats at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1947. Boxes and barrels, many full of fish and ice, wait at the quayside to be taken to market 12. A cat sits on top of a board advertising The Star in Hampstead. The photograph was taken by John Gay in the early 1960s
The 19th-century view of Covent Garden shows how much the central London landmark has changed. Back then, it was a vegetable market rather than a glamorous tourist magnet. In fact, the only thing that remains the same today is The Lady, which is still just around the corner.
13. A man with a hand-drawn cart piled with cloth and a young woman (1895). Henry Taunt called the image 'smockfrock and skirtie' 14. John Gay photographed an elderly man paddling in the sea in Blackpool, c. 1950s
100 Postcards Of Our Past From English Heritage, is published by Frances Lincoln, priced £12.49.
1. Maintenance of the Big Ben clockface 2. Odeon Leicester Square opened in November 1937. The first film shown was The Prisoner Of Zenda 3. A shepherd moves his flock through Helmsley in North Yorkshire, 1954Although many know the organisation as a custodian of some of our finest historic sites, English Heritage also oversees an archive containing more than 12 million images, drawings and documents. Now, 100 of them have been selected to appear in a book, 100 Postcards Of Our Past.
4. A pram on the pavement outside a house in Swedenborg square, Stepney, photographer by Eric de Mare, c. 1950s 5. Women sitting on stone steps in Hellidon, Northamptonshire, photographed by Alfred Newton, c. 1900s 6. Spectators watch a footbal match in 1961 in Victoria Park, London. Photograph by Laurence GoldmanRepresenting some of the best black-and-white images from the late 19th century until the 1960s, they were taken by such celebrated photographers as Henry Taunt, Eric de Mare and John Gay, and offer a vivid glimpse of everyday life in times past.
7. This 19th-century view shows Covent Garden asa bustling fruit and vegetable market 8. This photograph of the flying Scotsman outside King's Cross station was taken by John Gay in 1948 9. A horse-drawn bus outside the Bull Hotel in Burford. The photography was taken by Henry Taunt, 1860-1922LP Hartley wrote that the past is a foreign country and the Britain captured in these images certainly seems a very different place. As well as offering a snapshot of changing fashions, they also evoke an age free from traffic jams, mobile phones and emails.
10. A street view of Ludgate Circus looking towards St Paul's Cathedral with horse-drawn buses in the foreground and a steam train on the bridge. A late 19th-century photograph by York and Son 11. Hallam Ashley took this photograph of fishing boats at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in 1947. Boxes and barrels, many full of fish and ice, wait at the quayside to be taken to market 12. A cat sits on top of a board advertising The Star in Hampstead. The photograph was taken by John Gay in the early 1960sThe 19th-century view of Covent Garden shows how much the central London landmark has changed. Back then, it was a vegetable market rather than a glamorous tourist magnet. In fact, the only thing that remains the same today is The Lady, which is still just around the corner.
13. A man with a hand-drawn cart piled with cloth and a young woman (1895). Henry Taunt called the image 'smockfrock and skirtie' 14. John Gay photographed an elderly man paddling in the sea in Blackpool, c. 1950s100 Postcards Of Our Past From English Heritage, is published by Frances Lincoln, priced £12.49.