In Pictures: Previously Unseen Views of London in the 1930s

By Nicolas Chinardet Last edited 174 months ago
In Pictures: Previously Unseen Views of London in the 1930s
Cheap trips from St Pancras
Cheap trips from St Pancras
Construction of Thames House, home of MI5 - 1929/30
Construction of Thames House, home of MI5 - 1929/30
Palace of Westminster's Clock Tower, Westminster Bridge and the Thames
Palace of Westminster's Clock Tower, Westminster Bridge and the Thames
North bank of the Thames, just right of the Palace of Westminster
North bank of the Thames, just right of the Palace of Westminster
North bank of the Thames with the RAF Memorial (erected in 1923)
North bank of the Thames with the RAF Memorial (erected in 1923)
Lambeth Bridge before the construction of the current one - 1929/30
Lambeth Bridge before the construction of the current one - 1929/30
"Gate of Honour" outside Weymouth House, Mill Hill Village (NW7)
"Gate of Honour" outside Weymouth House, Mill Hill Village (NW7)

We all know (or hope) that flea markets will offer hidden treasures. And sometimes they just do.

A lucky find in Deptford market, a couple of years ago, has made this Londonista, for the grand old sum of £5, the happy owner of a photo album with some very interesting shots. Although there are virtually no annotations in the album, it seems that the pictures were taken between 1930 and the late 1940's. Some may even be earlier.

The album seemed to belong to someone involved with a religious youth organisation called the Crusaders Union. Google yields very little information about this, so if anyone out there can provide further details, we would be very happy.Most the pictures are of groups of young people involved in camps and excursions organised by the Union but some show views of the Queen Mary and sailing boats, of Stratford Upon Avon and other unnamed places, and of steam trains. Only seven of them are recognisably of London itself but some of these seem to us to be of particular interest.We have to admit that the views of Lambeth Bridge were confusing us slightly. While the current bridge was open in 1932, that the previous one was a suspension bridge... What we have here doesn't look anything like either. It transpires that what we see is a temporary structure used while the current bridge was being finalised. It seems that something similar was done for Wandsworth Bridge.A modern view of the "Gate of Honour" can be found here, on the website of the Mill Hill School Foundation (founded in 1807) that occupies the building.

Last Updated 09 September 2009