Category: London

Queensway, London

This photograph was taken around 1866 and Bayswater station was opened on October 1st., 1868. It was initially used by steam trains operated by Metropolitan Railway – which became the Metropolitan lines. Construction of the railway line required the excavation of a ‘cut and cover’ tunnel. In Leinster Gardens, the frontages of two houses which were demolished to make way for the line were reconstructed to restore the appearance of a terrace of houses. The station has had a number on names over the years – Bayswater (Queen’s Road & Westbourne Grove (1926), Bayswater (Queen’s Road) (1933), Bayswater (Queensway) (1946) and finally Bayswater, when the suffix was gradually dropped.

Image: Photographer unknown

The same view in November 2022.

Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell

A merged version of the two images.

Lord’s Cricket Ground, London

A photograph of the redevelopment of the Compton and Edrich stands (dating from 1991) which started at the end of the 2019 cricket season. Demolition of the two stands either side of the Media Centre was in full swing in October 2019.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
By March 2022, the completed stands stood ready for the 2022 cricket season.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
A merged version of the two images. Use the slider.

Farringdon Station, London

A photograph of the exterior of Farringdon Station in London – taken in (I believe) the 1930s. A station ‘buffet and restaurant’ can be seen to the left of the main entrance.
Image: Getty Images – photographer unknown
The same view in June 2022. Behind me is the brand new station for the Elizabeth line trains (opened a month or so ago). The old station still handles the older underground lines that pass through Farringdon.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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Marble Arch, London

Muhammad Ali passing Marble Arch during training in the early morning for his fight with Brian London in the summer of 1966. He was photographed returning to his hotel and being approached by a fan for an autograph.
Image: Topham Picture Point / PA
From approximately the same position in May 2022.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
A merged view of the two images. Use the slider.

Parliament Square, London

The unveiling of a statue of Sir Winston Churchill in 1973. The location is Parliament Square in London – and the statue is looking at the Houses of Parliament. The unveiling was performed by Lady Churchill. To her right Is Queen Elizabeth, and the Prime Minister (Edward Heath) is to the right of the photograph.
Image : Photographer unknown (PA)
The statue in April 2022.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
A merged version of the two images. Use the slider.

Oxford Street, London

A 1950s/early 1960s view of the HMV shop in London’s Oxford Street. HMV’s first-ever store opened here, at 363 Oxford Street, in 1921. It moved to a larger location at 150 Oxford Street in the 1980s, but moved back to its original location in 2013. In the photograph below, you can see a blue plaque (to the left of the photograph) celebrating the history of the ‘world’s most famous music store’.
Image: HMV
In February 2022, work started to transform the former HMV store and in March it became ‘Candy World’ – a store selling American sweets. So, instead of .Nipper’ listening intently to an electric Edison-Bell cylinder phonograph, it now has the United States flag and an image of the Statue of Liberty holding a lollipop and a chocolate bar.
In recent years, a large number of American sweet shops (candy stores) have opened in London. It is estimated that there is at least one every 250 metres in central London. 
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
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Kingsway, London

WH Smith in Kingsway, London – photographed in 1950. Twelve years later in 1962, a 20-year-old Brian Lewis Hopkin Jones (one of the founders of the Rolling Stones) worked here as a counter assistant.
Image: Photographer unknown
Now a Costa Coffee shop, I took this photograph in March 2022.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Great George Street, London

This photograph (taken in 1940) shows some of the precautions being taken in the Whitehall area in the event of possible enemy action. The building to the left of the image is H.M. Treasury.
Image: IWM
On a sunny day in April 2022 in a peaceful London the scene is completely different.
Image: © TimeViews Steven Miell
A merged version of the two images. Use the slider in the centre.