London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Oldest Footage of London Ever

Yestervid
This is the oldest footage of London ever. Includes amazing old footage, plus modern shots of the same location today. Also features maps carefully researched to show where the camera was. Arranged by location, 46 shots of classic footage with a twist and an inspiring soundtrack.

This collection of footage was taken between 1890 and 1920 and shows various places around London, all identifiable by location on a map.

In order they are:

WESTMINSTER:

1. Parliament square, looking across at Big Ben

2. Westminster Abbey

3. Westminster Abbey from Tothill Street

4. Houses of Parliament from the South Bank

5. Houses of Parliament from across the Thames River

6. Big Ben from Westminster Bridge

7. Flipbook animation of the south side of Westminster Bridge

8. Downing Street, home of the Prime Minister

9. No 10 Downing Street door

EMBANKMENT

10. Victoria Embankment

11. Cleopatra's Needle

12. Egyptian Lions at Cleopatra's Needle

13. Blackfriars Bridge

ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

14. St Paul's Cathedral from the South Bank

15. St Paul's Cathedral from across the Thames River

16. St Paul's Cathedral from the tower of St Mary Le Bow Church

TOWER BRIDGE & TOWER OF LONDON

17. Tower of London viewed through Tower Bridge

18. Tower Bridge looking south from the parapet

19. Tower Bridge closing after allowing a boat to pass

20. Looking south along the length of Tower Bridge

21. Panorama of the Tower of London from Tower Bridge

22. South side of the Tower of London

23. Tommies marching in the moat

THE CITY

24. Monument to the Great Fire of 1666

25. Pan up the Monument

26. The Bank of England

27. The Bank of England from Cheapside

28. St Mary Le Bow tower from Cheapside

FLEET ST & THE STRAND

29. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub

30. Temple Bar Memorial

31. The Royal Courts of Justice

THE WEST END

32. The Empire Theatre, Leicester Square

33. Piccadilly Circus

CHARING CROSS & TRAFALGAR SQAURE

34. Eleanor Cross at Charing Cross Station

35. Panorama of Trafalgar Square

36. Admiralty Arch

37. Nelson's Column

ST JAMES & BUCKINGHAM PALACE

38. Crimean War Memorial

39. St James's Palace

40. Band at St James's Palace

41. Buckingham Palace

42. Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace

HYDE PARK

43. Hyde Park Corner

44. Hyde Park Corner traffic

45. Hyde Park

TRAFALGAR SQAURE

46. Oldest footage of London - Trafalgar Square (1890)

CREDITS

Footage
Bombing of London, 1917, PD
Seeing London - ca 1920s, PD
Westminster Bridge Robert W Paul, 1896, PD
Edwardian London, 1911, PD
Early Traffic Scenes, 1890-1900, PD
Old London Street Scenes, 1903, PD
Blackfriars Bridge, R.W. Paul, 1896, PD
1890s Traffic Scenes, 1897, PD
Garde descendante du palais St-James,
Louis Lumière & Auguste Lumière, 1896, PD
Londres, Piccadilly Circus,
Louis Lumière & Auguste Lumière, 1896, PD
Entrée du Cinématographe,
Louis Lumière & Auguste Lumière, 1896, PD
Londres, entrée de Hyde Park,
Louis Lumière & Auguste Lumière, 1896, PD
Londres, Pont De Westminster et Parlement,
Auguste Lumière 1896, PD
Hyde Park Bicycling Scene, Robert W Paul, 1896, PD
Trafalgar Square, Wordsworth Donisthorpe, 1890, PD

Music
Just Me and My Thoughts, Published by Audioblocks
Recording of Big Ben, Edison brown wax cylinder
Ferguson/Hope/Gouraud, PD
Morning Sun, Published by Audioblocks
Anthem To The Fallen, Published by Audioblocks
Smoker's Section, Published by Audioblocks
Softly Inspiring, Published by Audioblocks
Lightness, Published by Audioblocks
The Rule, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under CC by 3.0
Black And White Rag, 1908,
Composed by George Botsford
Performed by Winifred Atwell, 1952, PD

Photographs
Poppies At The Tower Of London, 2014,
Martin Pettitt, CC by 2.0
London bridge photo from hot air balloon,
2014, Daniel Chapman,
www.stirlingackroyd.com, www.balloon.tv, CC by 2.0
Aerial photo from hot air balloon of tower bridge,
2014, Daniel Chapman,
www.stirlingackroyd.com, www.balloon.tv, CC by 2.0
Trooping The Colour,
2007, Jon Bennett, CC by 2.0
London From The Shard, 2013,
Flickr user: [Duncan], CC by 2.0
Shutterstock

Thanks to
The People of London
Simon Meyer
St Mary Le Bow Church
Open Street Maps

Directed by
Al Paton

Produced by
Yestervid


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×