Ever wondered what your road or area looked like 50 or 100 years ago? Historic England is launching an aerial photography tool that allows users to explore images of England over the past century.
The bird’s eye views range from second world war defences and nuclear power stations to the remains of neolithic monuments, Roman farmsteads and medieval villages.
More than 400,000 photographs from 1919 to the present day, covering 30% of England, will be available to search and view online for the first time.
They include images of the remains of a neolithic long barrow near Broughton, Hampshire, iron age forts such as Pilsdon Pen in Dorset and medieval villages such as Old Sulby in Northamptonshire.
There are photos of second world war defensive measures such as anti-aircraft obstructions at Hampton Court Palace and camouflaged runways at RAF Kenley in 1941.
Images of Greenwich Park in 1946 show it covered in a patchwork of allotments for food after it aided the war effort. A modern photo from August 2006 shows outlines of the allotments appearing through the grass in hot weather.
Bomb damage can be seen in images of central Liverpool and the Albert Dock from 1941, 1946 and 1948.
Other photographs of note are of 20th-century industrial sites, such as the construction of Tilbury power station in 1955 and its demolition in 2017, and famous buildings, such as views of St James’ Park football stadium in Newcastle from the 1920s and St Paul’s Cathedral after the war.
Last year Historic England launched a digital aerial archaeology tool that allows people to discover archaeological details about local landscapes.
Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s chief executive, said: “I am delighted that our new online tool will allow people to access easily our wonderful collection of aerial images and enjoy the historic photography that our team uses every day to unlock the mysteries of England’s past.”
Nigel Huddleston, the heritage minister, said the tool offered “a bird’s eye view of our past” and encouraged “everyone to explore the thousands of English sites from the last century”.
