Skip to content

New aerial photographs of England 'unlock mysteries of past'

Damian Grady Flooded shot of TewkesburyDamian Grady
Much of the Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury was submerged by flooding in 2018

A new photograph archive shows 100 years of changes to the landscape of England.

Historic England has launched a new Aerial Photography Explorer which combines maps with more than 400,000 images taken since 1919.

Bristol's Temple Meads station, St Eval Airfield in Cornwall and Salisbury Cathedral are in the collection.

Historic England's regional director Rebecca Barrett said it would "unlock the mysteries of England's past".

Historic England Sandford Parks lido in CheltenhamHistoric England
Sandford Parks lido in Cheltenham was opened in 1935 when outdoor swimming was hugely popular
RAF/Historic England St Eval Airfield in CornwallRAF/Historic England
St Eval Airfield in Cornwall was opened in 1941, and was often targeted by German bombing raids
Damian Grady/Historic England Salisbury Cathedral from the airDamian Grady/Historic England
The heatwave of 2018 parched the grass at Salisbury Cathedral, revealing the footprint of the former belfry

Around 300,000 of the photographs come from Historic England's Aerial Investigation and Mapping staff who have been taking photographs of England from the air since 1967.

The remaining pictures come from the charity's aerial photography collection which features a total of more than two million photographs including many taken by the Royal Air Force and Aerofilms Ltd.

Damian Grady/Historic England Pilsdon Pen Hillfort in DorsetDamian Grady/Historic England
Historically important sites such as Pilsdon Pen Hillfort in Dorset are part of the collection
Historic England Bristol Temple Meads from the airHistoric England
Bristol Temple Meads station was photographed in 1938
Damian Grady/Historic England Bishop Rock LighthouseDamian Grady/Historic England
Bishop Rock Lighthouse close to the Isles of Scilly is the most westerly and southerly listed building in England

Many of the more modern photographs show how extreme weather such as flooding or heatwaves can have an impact on the landscape, including revealing the foundations of long-lost buildings.

As more of Historic England's photographic archive is converted to digital files, the collection will expand over the coming years.

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]