Lost London revealed: Nostalgic photographs present the capital’s most well-known websites in all their glory – earlier than many iconic landmarks had been demolished by voracious post-war planners
In 1962, when Euston Arch was set to be torn down, leading public figures including Sir John Betjeman fiercely protested.
But no argument, no matter how eloquent, was enough to stop the capital’s ‘demolition king’ Frank Valori, and so down it came.
Now, a new book of images of ‘lost’ London reveals Euston Arch in all its glory, as well as many other landmarks and street scenes that have been swept away by change.
Panoramas of Lost London: Work, Wealth, Poverty and Change 1870-1945, by Philip Davies, also shows Londoners of their lost eras, from Victorian tradesmen to Edwardian families outside their homes.
Not all the photos show landmarks that are no longer standing though. In one, the emerging skeleton of Tower Bridge is seen when it was under construction in 1893.
Leading architectural historian Dan Cruickshank says in the foreword to the book: ‘Few photographs are more powerfully evocative than those of lost buildings of great cities.
New book Lost London: Work, Wealth, Poverty and Change 1870-1945, describes the Euston Arch (pictured above in 1895) as ‘a heroic monument to Britain’s railway age’
St Pancras Hotel pictured from the east in 1910. Opened in 1874, the establishment was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Although it faced demolition, the building survives today
Inside St Pancras Station on London’s Euston Road in 1895. Today it forms one of the busiest transport hubs in the world
‘The photographs in Panoramas of Lost London have astonishing emotional power and appeal.
‘Even if the actual buildings cannot be brought back to life, this evocative and haunting book is the next best thing. Like its many photographs, it is pervaded by an intangible magic.’
London was the first great capital city of the modern era. It underwent phenomenal expansion in the Victorian period and by 1911 was the largest city in the world.
But its districts were ever changing, with poverty and immense riches side by side as they are today. As the years progressed, major landmarks that had stood for decades were swept away.
Euston Arch, which had stood since 1837, was the original entrance to Euston Station.
Its architect, Philip Hardwick, built it at a cost of £35,000 (£2.5million in today’s money) after being inspired by classical buildings in Rome.
Nurses tend to children in the nursery at 34 Albury Street, Deptford, on April 30, 1911
St Paul’s Cathedral pictured on April 15, 1942, with the ruins of St Augustine’s Watling Street in the foreground. The church was destroyed during German bombing in 1941
Trafalgar Square pictured on July 31, 1896. Only a few Londoners are seen next to the fountain. Now, the tourist hotspot is always packed in the summer months
Waterloo Place, London, after 1881, looking south towards the Duke of York Column, on a misty winter’s day. The equestrian statue of Field Marshal Napier (replaced in the 1920s by one of Edward VII) is immediately to the north and the Guards’ Crimean Monument is also prominent. The Place is busy with horse drawn and pedestrian traffic
The emerging skeleton of Tower Bridge is pictured when the structure was under construction in 1893
The Houses of Parliament seen above in 1890. The photo takes in Parliament Square and horse-drawn road traffic. The Palace of Westminster was built by Charles Barry between 1837 and 1858 after the previous building was destroyed by fire
The Tower of London seen above in 1900, with Tower Bridge in the background. In the foreground are hansom cabs waiting for passengers
Looking at Admiralty Arch as The Mall stretches down towards Buckingham Palace behind it, 1923. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb and built in 1910 as part of the Queen Victoria memorial scheme. The central archway is used only on ceremonial occasions
Marble Arch, at the entrance to Hyde Park, pictured before 1908. The landmark was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the ceremonial gateway to the refurbished Buckingham Palace. However, in 1851 it was moved to where it still stands, at the corner of Hyde Park
Thames Embankment pictured in 1890. Seen on the road are horse-drawn carriages, as Cleopatra’s Needle stands in the distance
Londoners walk past Westminster Abbey as Parliament’s Big Ben stands in the background, 1902 West front of Westminster Abbey, London, 1902. The large vestibule in front of the west door of the Abbey has since been demolished
The Royal Albert Hall pictured in 1890. London’s ‘demolition king’ Frank Valori said it would be ‘an honour’ to demolish it
A view of Hyde Park Corner, looking towards Constitution Arch. The arch was designed by Decimus Burton. It is pictured above in the period between the removal of the statue of the Duke of Wellington in 1883 from the top and its replacement by a Victory group in 1912
A view of the Waldorf Hotel, at 11-43 Aldwych, in 1901. The hotel was built in 1907-1908. In the foreground is a building site that is all that remains of Wych Street and Drury Court
It went in 1962 – along with Euston’s Great Hall – so that the station could be redeveloped.
The Great Hall – with its staircases leading down on to a grand concourse – had formed the template for other imposing station ticket halls – as evidenced by New York’s Grand Central Station.
Euston station itself, which opened on July 20, 1837, a year before the arch was finished, was the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway constructed by Robert Stephenson.
In the place of many of London’s old buildings, office blocks were constructed, along with accompanying car parks and ring roads.
Columbia Market, in Bethnal Green, was demolished in 1958 to make way for the high-rise council flats Sivill House and the Dorset Estate.
St James’s Theatre, which had been managed by British acting legend Laurence Olivier and his equally famous wife Vivien Leigh, was demolished and replaced with an office block.
This was despite street marches and a protest in the House of Lords.
London’s Coal Exchange, near the Old Billingsgate Market, which had been described by one academic as the ‘prime city monument of the early Victorian period’, was demolished in the face of fierce protests so that the nearby Lower Thames Street could be widened.
A view of Oxford Street, Westminster, London, from roof level, c1909. Selfridge’s department store is prominent, with two large radio masts on the roof. Selfridge’s opened for business in 1909
The Bank of England, pictured from Threadneedle Street in 1895 as police direct pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic
Holborn Viaduct pictured in 1868, a year before its construction was completed. The hoarding in the foreground is advertising the then new St Pancras Station
Young residents of 38-40 Tufton Street, Westminster, pose for a photo outside their homes on May 21, 1906
Locals stand outside The Old Dick Whittington Inn, in Cloth Fair, on May 16, 1904. The pub was later demolished
Walsingham House Hotel, at Piccadilly, pictured in 1899. The hotel stood on the site that is now occupied by the Ritz
Residents of Wood Street, in Westminster, are pictured outside their homes on October 19, 1909. The image was taken at the junction with Tufton Street looking west. The neighbourhood was re-developed between 1900 and 1939
London Bridge pictured in 1880. The bridge was re-built in 1825 because the old one could no longer cope with the increasing volume of traffic
Department store Liberty & Co pictured in 1913 at its original site on the east side of Regent Street, south of the junction of Beak Street (pictured left). It relocated further north in the 1920s
The stretch of 83-99 Regent Street, pictured on August 4 August 1914, the day Britain declared war on Germany
Flower girls are pictured congregating around the base of the statue of Sir Robert Peel on Cheapside,1905
The Natural History Museum, in South Kensington, pictured in 1900. With motorised traffic yet to be adopted widely, horse-drawn carriages are seen on the road still
A view from the balcony of 147 Strand, looking south-west, 1900. Strand, 1900. In the foreground is Spiers & Pond restaurant
Animal carcasses are seen on display at Swift’s Butchers at Smithfield Market in 1928. The market is set to close and relocate
The proprietoress of Ferry Eel and Pie House is pictured in her doorway on Nile Street, Woolwich, in 1900. To her left is a widow in mourning dress
Residents in Moss’s Alley, Bankside, stand outside their homes May 16, 1912
A view of the the ‘Royal Blue’ horse omnibus on Euston Road, Camden, in 1912. The bus carries an advert for Selfridge’s
A large queue is seen outside the Lyceum Theatre in 1909. The theatre was built in 1834, but only a facade of the original remained by 1909. It finally closed in 1934
Other Victorian buildings that were demolished in the 1960s include the original home of the Army and Navy Club, the Imperial Hotel, Londonderry House, Birkbeck Bank and the Junior Carlton Club.
Author William Blake’s former home, Blake’s House in Soho, was demolished in 1965.
Other buildings that were threatened with demolition included the Gothic Revival St Pancras Station in 1966 and the Royal Albert Hall, which is also pictured in the new book.
Of the latter Valori said: ‘I’d love to take that one down. It would be an honour.’
He was responsible for the destruction of both the Euston Arch and the Coal Exchange.
Planners also wanted to destroy Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden and other landmarks near the Thames.
A well-dressed lady crosses the road in front of the milliner’s shop Madame Louise, at 266-268 Regent Street, 1912
Horse-drawn carts and carriages are seen being driven past St George’s Hospital, at Hyde Park Corner, pictured in 1910
The Riland family pictured outside their house in squalid Bear Yard on June 11, 1906
Looking west along Cheapside towards the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia, 1905
Workers stand outside the warehouse at the headquarters of fountain pen manufacturers Mabie, Todd and Company, at 319–329 Weston Street, Southwark, 1913
An alluring view of the jams and pickles counter at Slaters on Kensington High Street, 1909
Under the controversial proposals for Covent Garden, much of its south-western corner would have been lost to concrete terracing.
Apart from St Martin’s in the Field, no other buildings in the area would have been retained.
However, the local community successfully lobbied to have the plans dropped.
Former Labour cabinet minister Barbara Castle said in 1970: ‘Were we really going to be guilty of monstrous vandalism by putting modern buildings in Whitehall?’
The desire to demolish London’s old buildings was driven in part by the then flourishing popularity of the style of Brutalist style of architecture.
The most famous examples in the capital include the Barbican Centre, the listed high-rise apartment block Trellick Tower, the Brunswick Centre and the Hayward Gallery.
A view of Oxford Circus, on October 1910. Even then it was a hugely busy thoroughfare, with motorised vehicles taking over from horse power
A view of Gamages department store and the Prudential Building, in Holborn, London, 1907. In the street, hordes crowd outside to take advantage of the sales Games closed in 1972
Two upholstery workers are seen applying their skills in the furniture trade at 13 & 14 Archer Street, Soho, May 1908
Sir Paul Pindar’s house, on Bishopsgate, pictured in 1885. Seen outside are various locals and a policeman
The entrance to Leicester Square Tube Station, on Cranbourn Street, pictured 1916
Guy’s Hospital, on St Thomas’ Street, pictured in December 1934
The majestic Dorchester House, on Park Lane, 1905. The house was once the home of the American ambassador. It was demolished in 1929 to make way for the Dorchester Hotel
Workmen stand outside a shop that is being re-fitted on Leather Lane, Holborn, in 1891
Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster, pictured in 1907. Seen in the centre is the ‘Little Ben’ clock
Road workers are seen using a Buffalo Springfield steam roller to re-surface a stretch of the street on Parkhill Road, Belsize Park, 1920
A view of Mansion House Street looking towards the Royal Exchange, 1910. The Mansion House is seen on the right
A view of Ludgate Circus, in 1895. Traffic passes below the famous Bovril sign
Lynedoch Street, in the working class neighbourhood of Shoreditch, pictured in July 1920. Its houses were two storeys high and 18feet wide
Cafe Monico, at 19 Shaftesbury Avenue, pictured above in 1915
The Gaiety Theatre, at Aldwych, pictured above in 1911. A sign of the changing times is the sight of several motor vehicles in the street
Lambeth Suspension Bridge, pictured in 1865. The bridge was completed three years earlier
The main entrance of Fenchurch Street Station, 1912. Outside are two cars and a horse-drawn carriage
A view of Covent Garden in 1895. The area is now a hugely popular destination for tourists and day-trippers
COmmuters seen bustling outside Liverpool Street Station, 1905. The station was completed in in 1875
The interior of 209 Mare Street, in Hackney, 1904. The property boasted typical early 18th century square-edged panelling, a plain chimneypiece and butterfly hinges to the china cupboard. Hanging above the fireplace is a sign with the words: ‘Whoever will let Him take the water of life freely’
The ornate interior of the Criterion Restaurant at Piccadilly Circus, 1913
Workers in the blacksmith’s forge at Denmark Place, St Giles’s, in 1908
Columbia Market, Shoreditch, 24 July 1946
A view of 17 Fleet Street, which was then occupied by Carter’s Hair Cutting Saloon, 1899. In the street is a policemen and various well-dressed locals
Panoramas of Lost London : Work, Wealth, Poverty and Change 1870-1945 is published by Atlantic Publishing and available now
Other plans that never made it past the conceptual phase included a 1954 scheme to replace Soho with a giant conservatory topped with 24-storey tower blocks.
Almost all the images in the new book were taken from the collection of the former Greater London Council Historic Buildings Division, which subsumed the print collection of its predecessor, the London County Council.
After the Greater London Council was abolished in 1984, the collection was transferred to the London Region of English Heritage, before the body was divided in 2015 to create Historic England.
The collection is now used regularly by Historic England for references purposes.
Panoramas of Lost London: Work, Wealth, Poverty and Change 1870-1945 is published by Atlantic Publishing and available now.
