Category: Uncategorized

Curzon Street, London

G. F. Trumper is a luxury goods brand and gentlemens’ barber with two locations in London. One is in St. James’s and this one is in Curzon Street, Mayfair. Originally established as a barber (at this location) by George Francis William Trumper in 1875, Trumper was also a master perfumer. The shop’s interior still has the original mahogany and glass display case fittings which were installed around 100 years ago. Trumper is mentioned in Ian Fleming’s novel ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, Evelyn Waugh’s ‘Brideshead Revisited’ and is featured in a television episode of Agatha Christie’s ‘Poirot’ – where Hercule Poirot is seen leaving G.F. Trumper accompanied by Monsieur Trumper.
The window of the shop indicates that Trumper had supplied ‘The Late’ King George Vl, and shows the Royal warrants. This would indicate that the photograph was taken in the mid to late 1950s.
Credit: © Geo. F. Trumper
The shop has barely changed in the intervening 70 years (September 2020).
Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)
A merged version of the two images above. Use the slider in the centre.

Old Compton Street, London

Taken in 1955, this photograph by Allan Hailstone shows the end of Old Compton Street at its junction with Moor Street. To the right is a snack bar which became a Wimpy restaurant in the 1960s. On the left-hand side is a building site with an interesting film poster advertising ‘I am a Camera’ which was released the same year. With no double yellow lines, parking was easier. Credit: Allan Hailstone
The 1950s snack bar has gone through many changes in the intervening 65 years. It is now called ‘Slim Chickens’! This photograph was taken in September 2020 and shows (in the foreground) the barriers used during the Covid-19 period to regulate pedestrian traffic. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

Wellington Street, London

The Lyceum Theatre has been in the area since the mid-1700s, and on the current site since 1834. At the time this photograph was taken (1970s or early 1980s), the building was being used as a Ballroom. Credit: Photographer unknown
The Lyceum went dark in 1986 and was restored in 1996 and converted into a 2,100 seat theatre to house large-scale musicals or even opera. The musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ played here between 1996 and 1998. Since 1999, the Lyceum has been home to ‘The Lion King’ . Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the theatre has temporarily closed and, in May 2020, was flooded. The date (1834), not visible in the first photograph, can clearly be seen in the September 2020 version.
Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

Piccadilly Circus, London

Another fantastic photograph taken by Allan Hailstone in 1962. Jack Warner (centre) is seen with some of his friends in the Piccadilly Circus area. Warner was a well-known British film and television actor who was born in 1895 and died in 1981. He is widely known for portraying P.C. George Dixon – initially in a film (The Blue Lamp – 1950) and on TV from 1955 until 1976. He was also one of this country’s most popular film stars for many years. The arc of Regent Street can be seen behind the buses. Credit: © Allan Hailstone
Due to Covid-19, there were very few people about when I recreated the photograph in September 2020. The Shaftesbury Memorial (commonly known as ‘Eros’) is now clearly visible in the modern photograph. It cannot be seen in the 1962 version as it was moved to its present location in the 1980s. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

Carting Lane, London

A still taken from the film ‘The London Nobody Knows’. Shot in 1967 and released in 1969, it featured the actor James Mason exploring some of London’s lesser-known areas. In this shot, he is walking down Carting Lane (a side road off Strand, running down to the Thames). A rear entrance to the Coal Hole pub can be seen behind Mason. Also, a direction sign for the Savoy Theatre is above the actor’s head. Credit: Norman Cohen (The London Nobody Knows)
In September 2020, despite the building works, the view is very similar – especially the building to the right. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

Strand, London

A photograph taken by David E. Sherman – an American photographer in September 1941. A policeman is seen directing traffic outside the Wellington pub in London’s Strand. Just to the right of the pub, the columns of the Lyceum Theatre can be seen. Credit: David E. Sherman
From the same position in September 2020. Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)