St Pauls Cathedral, City of London, Greater London

Photograph taken March 1921 © Historic England Archive Aerofilms Collection ref: EPW005922

This view shows St Pauls and the surrounding area before World War Two. It shows the amount of smoke that was in the atmosphere when coal was the main fuel. The cathedral was built between 1675 and 1711 by Sir Christopher Wren, to replace the previous cathedral which was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Location

Greater London City of London

Period

1920s (1920 - 1929)

Themes

"Wills, Shaw and Friese-Greene Ready to Film". This was a publicity shot for the foundation of the Aerofilms aerial photography company. It was taken at the London Aerodrome, Hendon. Francis Lewis Wills was a former Royal Naval Air Service Observer and co-founder of Aerofilms. Claude Friese-Greene, holding the cine-camera, was technical director for Aerofilms in its early days, but is best known as a pioneering cinematographer. We know very little about Shaw, the pilot, probably an AirCo employee.

St Pauls Cathedral, City of London, Greater London

Location

Period

Themes

Tags