Aerial Photographs - Oblique

A selection of photographs taken from the air showing urban and rural landscapes and archaeological features. The earliest view dates from 1906 and was taken from a hot air balloon. Generally they are taken from inside an aeroplane. The photographer aims the camera out of the window to get an oblique (angled) view. The Aerofilms aerial photography company was founded in 1919. Their huge collection of stunning images is available to search on a new website; Britain From Above

Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection The Harbour and Docks, Bristol An oblique aerial view across Bristol with the Clifton Suspension Bridge in the background. The photograph shows how water from the River Avon is channelled into the docks. A large lock controls the water level and allows ships into and out of the docks. Ships and cargo can be clearly seen whereas in 2010 the docks have gone and been replaced largely with housing. More aerial photographs.	Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage.NMR Osborne House and formal gardens, East Cowes, Isle of Wight Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House as a private retreat and greatly extended it. The present house developed in the Italianate style between 1845-51 and was designed by Prince Albert and Thomas Cubitt. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Find out more.
Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Stonehenge, Amesbury, Wiltshire This is the earliest air photograph of Stonehenge and shows the damage already being caused to the site by uncontrolled access and trackways. The henge dates to circa 2,000 BC and is thought to have served a ritual or religious function. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010). Download the Stonehenge Teacher's Kit. Find out more.	Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR White Horse, Uffington, Oxfordshire An aerial view of the Uffington White Horse. It is a chalk hill figure dating from the Iron Age or possibly late Bronze Age and is 374 feet long. The horse was traditionally scoured every seven years under the jurisdiction of the local lord in a 3-day festival. This site is managed, maintained and owned by the National Trust.
Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Ridge and furrow at Mursley, Buckinghamshire An aerial view of surviving earthworks at Mursley showing medieval ploughed land in the form of ridge and furrow. The earthworks are created by the ox-driven plough and are slightly curved so that it was easier to turn the plough at the end of a field.	Add to My Favourites Crown copyright.NMR Avebury and Silbury Hill, Wiltshire The large henge site of Avebury with its internal stone circles dates from about 2,600-2,100 BC. In the distance, the enigmatic mound of Silbury Hill was the largest manmade mound in Europe. Both sites probably served a religious or ceremonial purpose. This site is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerial Photographers at Hendon Aerodrome, Barnet, Greater London "Wills, Shaw and Friese-Greene Ready to Film". This was a publicity shot for the foundation of the Aerofilms aerial photography company. It was taken at the London Aerodrome, Hendon. Francis Lewis Wills was a former Royal Naval Air Service Observer and co-founder of Aerofilms. Claude Friese-Greene, holding the cine-camera, was technical director for Aerofilms in its early days, but is best known as a pioneering cinematographer. We know very little about Shaw, the pilot, probably an AirCo employee.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection Bryant and May Match Factory, Bow, Greater London This factory was established by William Bryant and Francis May in 1861 to make safety matchs. At one time it was the biggest factory in London. In 1911 it employed more than 2,000 women and girls. The London matchgirls strike of 1888 started there. This led to the establishment of the first British trade union for women. A blue plaque outside the entrance commemorates the role of Annie Besant in leading demands for better pay and conditions. The factory finally closed in 1979 and the work was moved to Liverpool. In 1988 the site was derelict and became one of east London's first urban renewal projects. The factory building still stands today (2012) and is used as flats.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection St Pauls Cathedral, City of London, Greater London This view shows St Pauls and the surrounding area before World War Two. It shows the amount of smoke that was in the atmosphere when coal was the main fuel. The cathedral was built between 1675 and 1711 by Sir Christopher Wren, to replace the previous cathedral which was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection FA Cup Semi-Final at Highbury, Islington, Greater London This is an aerial view of the 1929 FA Cup Semi-Final. It is at Highbury, the home of Arsenal Football Club. Portsmouth beat Aston Villa 1-0 to reach the final at Wembley where they went on to lose 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers. This was the first of twelve occasions when Highbury was used as the neutral venue for FA Cup semi-finals.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection R101 Airship, Cardington, Bedfordshire This is the R101 airship at Cardington in 1929. It was built in 1926-30 at the Royal Airship Works at Cardington. It's final test flight was on the 1st October 1930. Three days later it left for Karachi in Pakistan. However it crashed into a hillside near Beauvais, north of Paris. Tragically 48 of its 54 passengers were killed.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection Coventry Cathedral, Coventry, West Midlands These are the remains of the old Cathedral. It was destroyed by incendiary bombs on 14 November 1940. Only its spire and outer walls survived. It is seen here from the air in July 1949. It is surrounded by empty plots where other buildings were destroyed in the Coventry Blitz. The interior of the Cathedral had been cleared and looks very much as it still does today. A new Cathedral was completed on adjoining land in 1962
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection Pre-fab housing, Coventry, West Midlands New pre-fabricated houses being put in place on a site on the edge of Coventry. Prefabricated housing was made to 11 designs as part of the Temporary Housing Programme to relieve the post war housing shortage. About 156,623 temporary bungalows were put up across Britain between 1944 and 1948.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection Queen Mary and other vessels in dock, Southampton The Queen Mary was in service for Cunard between 1936 and 1967. She did round trips to Halifax, Nova Scotia and New York. She was also known as the "Grey Ghost". She did war work as a troop ship which ended in September 1946. At the time of this photograph the Queen Mary was being used to repatriate the families of Canadian servicemen. She also transported many war brides to the US in 1946. She was demobilised (taken out of military service)in September 1946. She was then refitted and returned to civilian service as the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary in July 1947.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Aerofilms Collection Campsite, Crimdon Park, Durham A clifftop campsite at Crimdon. Crimdon was a popular holiday resort for miners and their families from nearby towns and villages. It had a fairground and pavilion and was popular for day trips. The 1970s and 80s saw Crimdon's decline as a resort as the popularity of foreign travel increased. There is still (2012) a caravan park. The area has become popular with birdwatchers.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Orford Castle, Orford, Suffolk Orford is the earliest castle in England for which documentary evidence of its building survives. The Pipe Rolls, record its construction by King Henry II between 1165 and 1173 to a total cost of £1414 9s 2d. Orford Castle was a symbol of the King's power, strategically placed both to uphold royal authority in a region thickly planted with castles of powerful lords and to guard the coast against invasion. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Calstock Viaduct, Cornwall The railway viaduct that crosses the River Tamar was built in 1904-1907 for the London and South Western Railway as a link line from Bere Alston to the East Cornwall Mineral Railway just above Calstock.	Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage.NMR Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London Pictured shortly before its closure in 2000, Wembley Stadium was built as part of the British Empire Exhibition and was opened by George V on the 24rd April 1924. Built at a cost of £750,000, the stadium was completed in just 300 days. Perhaps the single most significant change to its structure came in 1963, when the distinctive glass and aluminium roof was added
Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage.NMR Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear Crowds cross the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.	Add to My Favourites Copyright English Heritage.NMR Millennium Dome, Greenwich, London An aerial view of the Millennium Dome situated on a former gas works site by the River Thames. It was erected in 1997-9 to house a huge visitor attraction for the Millennium. It has a circumference of 1km and is 50m high.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR Pier Head, Liverpool, Merseyside. An oblique aerial view of Liverpool with the Pier Head and waterfront area in the foreground. From left to right are the Liver Building, Cunard Building and Mersey Docks and Harbour Board Building - sometimes referred to as the 3 Graces. While these 3 buildings are still the same in 2011 the area around has changed a great deal. The Leeds and Liverpool canal now ends on the Pier Head. The new Musuem of Liverpool has been built where the car park is and blocks of flats behind there. The green space that was Chevasse Park in 2002 is now the site of Liverpool One Shopping Mall. Many other landmarks can be seen further back including St John's Tower, St George's Hall and Lime Street Station.	Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Newbury by-pass under construction at Speen Moor Plantation An aerial view of the Newbury by-pass under construction at Speen Moor Plantation. Work started in 1996 against much opposition and the road finally opened in 1998.