Brian Girling

The wealthy riverside neighbourhood of Chelsea, situated in the centre of the capital, began as a Saxon village outside of London town. Although its population had grown to 3,000 by 1694, Chelsea was still considered rural, which was part of its attraction as a fashionable destination for the rich. With the development boom of the nineteenth century, however, the ‘village of palaces’ was fully absorbed into the metropolis, yet retained its charm and identity separate from the surrounding city. Chelsea Bridge opened in 1858, Albert Bridge in 1873, and the Chelsea Embankment in 1874. During the nineteenth century, the district’s Victorian artists’ colony gave it a reputation for bohemian creativity, and this re-emerged in the 1960s when Chelsea became identified with ‘Swinging London’, a centre of creativity and expression. The story of the district, home of the famous Chelsea bun, the Chelsea Porcelain Factory and Chelsea FC is chronicled in this unique collection of old and new images.

From the Houses of Parliament, through world-famous royal palaces, to the old aristocratic quarter of St James's, this book takes a fresh look at famed heritage sites and their surroundings alongside modern comparisons, showing changes of a century and more. Crowded scenes of celebration at Queen Victoria's jubilees and kings' coronations show the affection with which royalty is regarded. Alongside this pageantry, Royal Westminster & St James's Through Time reveals studies of a more traditional London, of residential neighbourhoods and Thamesside industry. Brian Girling introduces a remarkable assembly of rare and historic photographs of Westminster, an area known worldwide for its royal, parliamentary and military traditions, which will surprise and delight residents and visitors familiar with this historic area of London.

This book takes a photographic tour of one of the City of Westminster's more distinctive areas, and with a wealth of archive images set alongside comparison photographs from the present day shows how old neighbourhoods have evolved through the decades. Along the way are the carefully preserved Victorian streets of Pimlico's early development and some of the grittier byways which have yielded to war damage and great modern housing estates. The pages are filled with pubs and local traders together with canal and Thames side industry. The local transportation is represented by images of vintage buses and antiquated trams alongside the great transport interchanges which characterise northern Pimlico. Pimlico Through Time offers a fresh look at a much loved London area and will delight and intrigue local residents and visitors alike.

In this intriguing new collection of old postcards and photographs, the Paddington of the past has been recreated through the images that were recognisable daily sights to those who have know the area during the twentieth century. From street scenes of bustling market days to the first sighting of motor cars on Paddington streets, the reader is taken on a nostalgic trip into a bygone era of this fascinating former borough of London.The broad streets that crossed the city and the carriages and wagons which travelled along them are preserved here in magnificent form, as are the shops and traders who served the needs of the people of Paddington. The smart terraces and apartments of Bayswater and Tyburnia are set alongside recreational images of walkers taking the air in some of London's many royal and municipal parks. Anyone who has visited Paddington, or who has memories of the area as it was, will find this book both stimulating and informative. Paddington provides a rare opportunity to witness the vibrant history of an ever-changing inner London area.

The River Thames, with its docks, wharves and associated industries, has been a source of livelihood for generations of East Enders living in the historic riverside neighbourhoods of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Stepney, Poplar and adjacent areas. From images of the maritime stores of old nautical Limehouse and the silk-weaving houses in Bethnal Green at the turn of the twentieth century, to views of the prefabs in Poplar after the Second World War, this selection recalls how life was lived in the tightly packed streets of the East End. East End Neighbourhoods draws on both private and public pictorial archives to offer a fascinating glimpse into the past of one of the most individual and facinating quarters of London.

This fascinating collection of over 200 images takes is on a tour of the old borough of Marylebone, from Oxford Street to Edgware Road and from Baker Street to St John's Wood. They sketch Marylebone's history as one of London's smaller metropolitan areas which, in 1965, amalgamated with nearby Westminster and Paddington to form the City of Westminster. This selection was compiled mainly from private collections with contributions from Marylebone Gallery and London Metropolitan Archives. It depicts the social and commercial life of this distinctive area, showing familiar attractions such as Madame Tussaud's and Lord's Cricket Ground as well as fine Georgian houses, busy thoroughfares, long-vanished Underground statiosn and well-known shops. This unique collection of photgraphs, many of which appear in print for the first time, will jog the memory and stimulate the imagination of old and young, residents and visitors alike.

This fascinating selection of over 200 old photographs of the Royal Borough of Kensington shows a surprisingly varied range of activities and views from this unique area of London over a period of one hundred years. Included in this volume are photographs of Edwardian scenes in Kensington Gardens, early underground trains, famous department stores in their founding years and a host of characters recorded as they shop, relax in the parks or listen to itinerant musicians playing in the streets. The camera also recorded streets and buildings that were lost during slim clearence programmes or new road schemes which can be seen again here. There are scenes of Kensington's world famous museums and Earls Court and its exhibition grounds. Some references to property prices of around eighty years ago make astonishing reading today! Most of the images collected here are published for the first time and have been drawn from the author's own extensive collection of old picture postcards.

South Kensington is located in the prosperous Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is home to some of the most significant museums in London, including the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Baden-Powell House. Neighbouring the equally affluent areas of Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea, South Kensington has some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. However, there is more to South Kensington than its exclusive housing. The district has a rich and fascinating history, and is known for its French connections, having been home to many French expatriates over the years. This unique selection of old and new images and informative captions, compiled by local author Brian Girling, who was born in South Kensington, is essential reading for anybody who knows and loves this area.

This fascinating compilation of early London photographs takes us on a tour of one of the world's greatest cities, but rather than picturing the historic scenes dating back to the 1850s in the traditional sepia and black and white monochrome, new realism is given here by reproducing the images in full colour. We can therefore explore not only some of London's world renowned landmarks but also less frequently pictured aspects of the capital including its street characters, local markets, shops, theatres and early cinema, and the historic River Thames by whose banks London began as a Roman town nearly 2000 years ago. There is also a look at some of the local neighbourhoods where Londoners live, and at the city's transport as horse and steam traction gives way to electricity and the internal combustion engine. Great exhibitions and royal events are featured as are wartime photographs recalling the inferno of the Blitz in the 1940s, while a further sequence recalls London's old docklands. Principally sourced from ancient albums and private collections, Lost London in Colour unites a wealth of rare and unpublished images to reveal that the London of a century and more ago was as colourful and vibrant a city as it is in the present day.

Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today. Until 1686, the May Fair was held in Haymarket, and after 1764, it moved to Fair Field in Bow because the well-to-do residents of the area felt the fair lowered the tone of the neighbourhood. The district is now mainly commercial, with many offices in converted houses and new buildings, including major corporate headquarters, a concentration of hedge funds, real estate businesses and many different embassy offices, namely the U.S.'s large office taking up all the west side of Grosvenor Square. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and London's largest concentration of luxury hotels. The renown and prestige of Mayfair could have grown in the popular mind because it is the most expensive property on the British Monopoly board set.

This compilation of photographs explores two of west central London's historic areas through rare images, many unseen in over a century, alongside modern photographs for comparison. Bloomsbury is renowned for its fine architecture, rich cultural heritage, universities and specialist hospitals while Bohemian Fitzrovia is a colourful restaurant centre set in busy streets dating from the 1700s. Our pictorial tour takes us through gas-lit streets, grand squares and flavourful byways and includes a look at one of London's old German quarters. Along the way are lost neighbourhoods, shops where our ancestors procured their household essentials and a cinema which pioneered performances of coloured movie films. This book will revive many local memories and will delight and intrigue the resident and visitor alike.

With its trendy bars, quirky shops and historic restaurants, Soho is an exciting cosmopolitan slice of London's entertainments district. It is also Theatreland with more cinemas and historic theatres than anywhere. Featuring rare photographs from the Victorian era to the 1960s with comparison images from the present day, this book takes a journey through teeming streets, murky byways and once-grand squares.Along the way are the shops where our ancestors traded, lively markets and the back streets where a fashion revolution began in the 'Swinging Sixties'. Landmarks from the worlds of Theatre and Cinema are explored with the primitive viewing halls and experimental picture shows from Cinema's earliest days. With its fresh look at a fascinating and multi-faceted corner of London, this book will delight everyone who knows and loves Soho.

This compilation of over 180 photographs explores one of inner London's former Metropolitan Boroughs, and by the use of comparison images reveals some of the changes which have taken place to it in over a century. The particular style of Marylebone's streets is celebrated here, such as Baker Street, whose fictional detective gained the street worldwide recognition, and Oxford Street, effectively London's 'High Street'. Memories of horse-filled streets and local traders are revived alongside the pubs, concert halls, and transportation of yesteryear to give an intriguing and nostalgic portrait of what is now a characterful part of the modern City of Westminster.

London Colour Archive is a fascinating collection of early photographs, which take the reader on a tour of London. It is a tour with a difference, though, because rather than picturing historic scenes dating back to the 1850s in the usually expected sepia or monochrome tones this collection offers new realism as all of the photographs are in full colour. World renowned landmarks are featured as well as less well known aspects of the city including street characters, local markets, shops, theatres, early cinemas, local neighbourhoods and transport, as horse and steam transport was giving way to electricity and the internal combustion engine. Great exhibitions and royal events also appear as do wartime photographs of the devastation London suffered during the blitz in World War II. A further section recalls London's once-thriving docklands before their eventual decline and subsequent reinvigoration during more recent years. London Colour Archive brings together a wealth of rare and previously unpublished images to depict a city that was as vibrant and colourful a century ago as it is today.

This fascinating collection of nearly 200 old photographs portrays the famous heart of London between 1860 and 1960. Many of the images are previously unpublished and feature the City during the Edwardian period and slightly after, when London was arguably the greatest city in the world. All the famous city landmarks, such as St Paul's and the Monument are featured, but equally remarkable are the pictures which show the development of Victorian London, such as the constructions of the Victoria Embankment and the first Underground lines. Some photographs also show the destruction wrought by the Blitz and the subsequent rebuilding. Life and commerce in the City is revealed through the great variety of working premises, from the great printing houses of Fleet Street to humble shops, such as the Temple wig maker's - along with the people who worked in them. The pictures are accompanied by detailed captions filled with a wealth of historical detail. Anyone who is interested in the City and its past will find this book both enjoyable and informative.

A collection of images which explores the changes taking place in the London from 1850-1950.

This stunning collection of old photographs of one of Britain's best known areas will fascinate all who embark on this short tour into the Edwardian period of London's City of Westminster. Using over 200 images City of Westminster leads the reader around Pimlico through Belgravia and Knightsbridge, Mayfair, St James's and on to Soho and the West End's famous theatreland. Among this excellent selection are pictures of vanished neighbourhoods with shops, pubs and streets that were swept away in slum clearance programmes, street characters, busy markets, trams, horse-drawn buses and old theatres.

This fascinating collection of over 200 archive postcards explores the communities of Stepney, Poplar and Bethnal Green in the East End of London, before they were amalgamated in 1965 to form the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Introduced in the last decade of the nineteenth century, the new medium of the picture postcard soared in popularity as a previously image-starved Britain began to be pictured as never before, while postcards of local and national events were often on sale within hours. Their appeal was enhanced by the fact that they could be posted to anywhere in the country for only one halfpenny. This striking selection of old views from the capital city's East End combines popular sights with everyday scenes; from aerial views to Tower Bridge, the River Thames and London Docks to vistas of terraced houses, shops and businesses, as well as trams, streets and buildings which have long since disappeared. Images of King George V's Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1935, along with markets at Brick Lane and Sclater Street, reflect the traditional community spirit for which this area of London is renowned. "East Ender's Postcards" is a valuble pictorial history which will reawaken nostalgic memories for some, while offering a unique glimpse into the past for others.

This book is part of the Images of London series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local areas in England, through their streets, shops, pubs, and people.