Category: Uncategorized

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.

King’s Road, London

Taken in 1908, this postcard photograph shows the Chelsea Old Town Hall in the King’s Road, Chelsea. This building was constructed in a Neoclassical style at a cost of £35,000. It was completed in 1907. For a while, it was the seat of government for the local council, but ceased to be that when the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea was created in 1965. The Kensington and Chelsea Register Office was in this building and hosted several famous weddings including that of Judy Garland to Mickey Deans in 1969.
The interior of the building was comprehensively refurbished – completed in 2019.
Image: Courtesy of Kensington and Chelsea Council
I took this comparison photograph in December 2021. It was a question of waiting until the traffic was quiet – this was the quietest moment!
Image: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Liverpool Street, London

Taken in 1960, this photograph shows the entrance to Liverpool Street Station – opposite the London Underground roundel. On the left, taxis are seen emerging from the sloping entrance to the station.
Image: Photographer unknown

In November 2021, the station has been completely transformed. The ‘Eastern Region Headquarters’ building is now a McDonald’s. Image: ©TimeViews Steven Miell
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Cambridge Circus, London

The Palace Theatre in London’s Cambridge Circus was built in 1891. It was intended to be Richard D’Oyly Carte’s ‘Royal English Opera House’. The theatre opened in January 1891. However, it soon became apparent that it was not going to work as an opera house and was converted (in 1892)  into a Music Hall and Variety theatre. It was renamed ‘The Palace Theatre of Varieties’. In 1989, the Theatre’s exterior was restored to its former glory, and in 2004, the interior was also restored. This photograph was taken in the 1900s.
Image: Photographer unknown
The October 2020 view of the Palace Theatre. Harry Potter is in the middle of a run – interrupted by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Image: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Fleet Street, London

This house in London’s Fleet Street is one of the few surviving buildings in the City of London which dates from before the Great Fire of London (1666). It is now a Grade ll listed building.
Once owned by the Templars, the building was rebuilt in 1610 and became a tavern called Prince’s Arms – which coincide with the investiture of the son of James l (Prince Henry) as Prince of Wales. In 1661, Samuel Pepys was a visitor (it was then called the Fountain Inn). In the early part of the 19th century, an exhibition (Mrs. Salmon’s Waxworks) was held here. Since 1900, the building has been administered by various incarnations of London Corporations.
Image: Photographer unknown (1920s)
The same building in October 2021.
Image: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Old Compton Street, London

This theatre in Soho’s Old Compton Street was constructed in 1930. It was named after Prince Edward (who became Edwards VIII, and then the Duke of Windsor) and opened in April 1930. Josephine Baker performed her famous ‘Banana Dance’ in this theatre.
In 1935, the theatre was converted into a dance and cabaret hall, and was renamed the ‘London Casino’. During WW2 (in May 1941), it was badly damaged by German bombs and in 1942 it reopened as the ‘Queensberry All Services Club’. Shows for service personnel were staged here and then broadcast on the BBC. After the war, it reverted to the ‘London Casino’ incarnation (this photograph is from 1947) before, in the 1970s, going back to its original name.
Image: Photographer unknown
‘Mary Poppins’ is the production currently occupying the theatre. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the theatre was dark at the time of this photograph in September 2020.
Image: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Piccadilly, London

This photograph was taken in 1927/8. The photographer was standing in Piccadilly, looking towards Piccadilly Circus. The revue at the London Pavilion is ‘One Dam Thing After Another’ which opened in May 1927. The roadworks in the foreground was started in February 1925 and was part of the plan to construct a new booking hall and pedestrian subways due to a massive increase in tube usage. The work was completed in 1928.
While the work was being carried out, the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain – otherwise known as Eros – had been moved to Victoria Embankment Gardens.
Image: Photographer unknown
The upward extension of the London Pavilion (now the Trocadero) can clearly be seen in this photograph from September 2020. Eros had been restored to its original position but can been seen here in its current position – 40 feet away from the original spot. It had been moved in the 1980s.
Image: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.

Meard Street, London

Meard Street in Soho is known for the row of surviving early-Georgian townhouses. In the 1950s and 1960s, the basement of number 23 was home to one of London’s best-known coffee houses – Le Macabre. It was known for having coffin lids for tables, as well as skull for ashtrays. Skeletons, bones and cobwebs hung from the walls and ceiling. The only songs on the jukebox were ‘funereal’ in character. It was a mecca for ‘hip’ teenagers in its time. This photograph was taken in the 1960s.
Image: Photographer unknown
In September 2020, Meard Street’s character remains with the preserved Georgian terrace. Number 23(a) is now a film production company.
Image: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two photographs. Use the slider in the centre.