Strand, London

A photograph of an entrance to King’s College, University of London in Strand – taken in the 1920s. A delivery van is parked close to the entrance, and the arcade of small shops is evident. Bewlay (third shop from the left) was a high-class tobacconist.
Credit: Photographer unknown

The same view in September 2020. The entrance has been subsumed into the fabric of the building. Also, the small shops have gone.
Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

Down Street, London

Down Street station in Mayfair was opened in 1907 but lasted only 25 years. It was a stop on the Piccadilly line – then known as the ‘Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway’. However, it rapidly became apparent that there was very little demand for a station that had little passing pedestrian traffic, and was only a few minutes walk from either Green Park or Hyde Park Corner stations. As a result, it was closed in 1932 and used as a ventilation point for the Piccadilly Line.
It was during the second World War that Down Street station came into its own again. It was secretly converted into an underground, bomb-proof and gas-proof bunker by the Railway Executive Committee. It housed a vital telephone exchange, which was to coordinate railway activity during hostilities.
More famously, for around 40 days (October – November 1940), it was used as Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s secret shelter from the Blitz.
The bunker is 22 metres below ground – down 82 steps. World War Two paint can still be seen on the walls, as well as signs showing the way ‘To Offices’, and ‘To Enquiries and Committee Room’. During this period, 40 staff lived down there and toilet cubicles, sinks and baths can still be seen. Churchill slept on a camp bed until a larger section of tunnel was converted for his use. Churchill entertained members of the War Cabinet here and, it appeared, they dined well. Indeed, you can still see an old service bell – used to summon the waiters.
The shelter was such a secret that it was only discovered in 1994. There is still no official record of who stayed here.
Credit: Photographer unknown

The exterior, with its distinctive red tiles can still be seen. The disused station has been opened for guided tours, although this may not be the case during the Coronavirus. I took this photograph in September 2020.
Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

Bow Street, London

A photograph of the Bow Street Police Station and Magistrates Court, taken in January 1973. Although there had been a police and magistrates’ presence in Bow Street for many years, this building was not constructed until the late 1870s. At the time, the site comprised 19 individual houses. The leases had to be acquired before the site could be redeveloped. 
The building was completed at the end of 1880 at a cost of £38,400 and during its time as a Magistrates Court, a number of famous defendants entered the building, including – Dr. Crippen, the Kray twins, William Joyce, and Oscar Wilde.
The building was sold in 2004, and the court closed in 2006. The intention is to maintain the building’s Victorian facade, and to build a 100-room hotel behind. There are also plans to use the cells to house a museum on the history of the Metropolitan Police. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2020.
Credit: Photographer unknown (AP Photo/Harris)
In September 2020, work continues on the building’s conversion. With the Coronavirus, there are likely to be delays until the hotel opens.
Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

High Street, Newnham, Gloucestershire

Taken during the 1950s, this photograph shows Newnham’s lower High Street which is dominated by the Grade II listed clock tower, and erected by public subscription. The foundation stone is dated September 2 1875 – a further stone mentions that a new clock was installed in 1956. ‘The Beeches’ – a children’s home demolished in 1968 – can be seen at the end of the High Street.
Credit: Photographer unknown
The August 2017 view shows relatively little change.
Photograph: © Steven Miell (TimeViews)

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)