This video came into our email box and we thought it was worth sharing.
This is the oldest footage of London ever. Includes amazing old footage, plus modern shots of the same location today. Also features maps carefully researched to show where the camera was. Arranged by location, 46 shots of classic footage with a twist and an inspiring soundtrack.
The video features:
- 46 vintage shots of recognizable places in London from 1890-1920
- Added dates and maps to show where the camera was
- Amazing side-by-side comparison with modern footage of exactly the same spot
- The clip that is the oldest surviving footage of London from 1890.
Author: jonathan
Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.
Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!
This was absolutely wonderful to see London of old. My grandparents married in December 1917 so the September 1917 footage was particularly poignant and fascinating for me. How lovely, as my gt grandfather was a Solicitor’s Clerk in the Law district shown as well and the Hyde Park footage when my grandma who was born in Norwood was 6 years old. My gt grandfather was a personal friend of Lord Gladstone and my grandmother was taken to view him ‘In State’, gruesome I know but she was so proud of this event. Thankyou for putting this online.
Incredible — I love this city and have enjoyed sharing with my granddaughter!
Love it! Visited 2 years ago and so much to want to visit again!
Awesome! My great grandfather was the longest/oldest Omnibus Driver in London when he retired circa 1904. It’s wonderful to see the drivers working their way through London streets… who knows maybe I caught a glimpse of him!
The dual shots of now and then are fantastic… a really amazing job. Kudos to you and all your hard work. Cheers from Canada.
Wonderful Thank you so much for making this film.Londoners and lovers of London will enjoy your film. The advert for Lipton Teas on the Buses. The transport methods. How heavy goods were transported .
Fantastic footage and presentation is spot on..great to watch.
London the town where I was conceived, 1952 although I was Born elsewhere I always feel at home when in London.
Loved watching this and the comparisons were amazing. Can’t help but wonder what the transport will be like in 2115. I hope they preserve these wonderful buildings to the same standards.
Wonderful experience. Takes me back to my first trip to London at The Cheshire Cheese which my grandparents were so excited to show me. The current photos are beautiful and the old footage a wonderful glimpse into the pace of life back then–I still saw plenty of people rushing.
Wonderful to see the video of London then and now. Things that have changed and things which have remained the same.
London is such a special city. There is nowhere else like it in the world. It has a unique atmosphere built up over 2000 years.
Wonderful film. So much has changed in London, but the famous buildings and sites we so love have not. I notice the traffic problems have not changed much either.
Absolutely fantastic footage. Love London more than life thank you for posting. .
Thank you so much for such an amazing presentation.
loved this footage london is my home i live in the usa but there is no place like london
I was born in East London, lived there until 1970 and still revisit many of the scenes in these images. I couldn’t get over how much hasn’t changed rather than how much has. There’s really no place like it. Once a Londoner, always a Londoner. Many thanks for this experience.
great to watch its such a shame how london has gone i dout london will ever again be any thing more than a place to work and earn a wage its sad
That was lovely, and brought back many memories of my childhood.my parents used to take us to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace, visits to the tower of London, and to Trafalgar square to feed the pigeons.and to the museums, we loved those days out, caught the train at either Queens Park or Westbourne park, depending on where we went.My dads mum, my gran and her sister, used to sew for the Queen, and my maternal gran spoke of being a young girl during the time of Jack the ripper.
absuloutly banging footage proud to be a londonerx
Although I am Scottish for me, there is no place like London. Saw the Big Pink Moonwalk tent in Hyde park. Brilliant footage.
what can you say to this but just brilliant to watch
Nothing really has changed 🙂 Apart from cars, buses and fashions. All the places and the buildings look the same as 150 years ago. Lucky London! I guess, It was not bombed that heavily during the WW2 and was well-kept after.
I was utterly overwhelmed by this video – saddened and proud – My London (through the blitz and all)
As Pepys said ” A man who is tired of London is tired of life”
So true
Robert Davidson – born there
I watched this video from my Evening Standard & was fascinated by how many people were on the streets! I think they are busy now…. but back then when there were fewer people it seemed to be just as busy! I also liked that unlike the San Francisco video a couple years ago, this one has the side by side of what has changed or showed a map so the viewer is orientated as from which direction you were viewing something. That was so helpful. Loved it!
..thank you for this share !! truly amazing footage and also so wonderful that so much of London survived The Blitz…….
Absolutely splendid, memory lane and today shown simultaneously. Thank you for a brilliant presentation.
It is an absolute credit to the British that so much of what we see from 1917 is still there today and still in good condition. All too often, particularly in large cities, old buildings are bulldozed in the name of ‘progress’. Love London – can’t wait to go back to see it next year
Thank you for this great footage! So nostalgic for me.
Being born in the east end but now living in Australia this little bit of nostalgia brought tears to my eyes, thank you so much, I remember the trips to the science museum and natural history museum my dad used to take me to as a child, good old days!
My Father was born in Leytonstone, and my family used to go there often. One of my Cousins worked at Selfridges.I still have Family there, and have visited them on several
occasions. My Granddaughter now lives and works in London, Loves it, and says that she will not be coming back to British Columbia. I also like London very much.
Thank you so much for the website, I have been waiting for 58 years for something like this. The Illustrated London News did this for many years and sadly ended a long time ago. This video was absolutely fantastic, than you,
Nothing really changes that much, it`s only the people who are replaced. We are all given a short access to life for a limited period, then we have to move over for others, and this is how it continues from generations to generations.
In a hundred years time, we will also be viewed with fascination having an historic and novelty value.
This video is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for the share. It’s amazing to see what London looked like over 100 years ago. And it hasn’t changed that much, to be honest. There are still those beautiful iconic buildings which make the city so unique. It is the only one of its kind. And for me, there’s no place like London. Can’t wait to visit it at last.
This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing! This is London when my Grandparents were living there, and my father was born. Love it. My roots are there.
I felt so homesick when watching this and so proud to be a Londoner even though I have not lived there for many years. With tears I remembered so many of the places – in the new version; not the black and white version!
Wonderful – Thank You ! So emotional to see our beloved London as it was when it was a vibrant City to Live In not just a tourist attraction. We L❤️ve London