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Posted By: chriskay English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 10:15am
This was announced on the news this morning.
English Heritage have set up a site "Britain from above" http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/
with aerial photos from as early as 1919. A few on Wirral. Site is very slow, probably because it's new but I eventually managed to download some. I hope that when it gets less busy, it'll speed up.

From top.
Cammell Laird's 1920
Church Rd. 1920. Mersey Park school bottom right
Mersey Park 1920
King's Lane estate 1926. King's Rd. at bottom, King's Lane at right, Princes Boulevard at left.

Attached picture Cammell Laird's 1920.jpg
Attached picture Church Rd. 1920.jpg
Attached picture Mersey Park 1920.jpg
Attached picture King's Lane estate.jpg
Posted By: bert1 Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 10:26am
Cheers, Chris,

Cursor over photo reveals all, before anyone asks where they are.
Posted By: chriskay Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 10:29am
Thanks, Bert; just added some location info.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 11:08am
Thanks Chris. An excellent site by the look of it. Another great absorber of time !!
Posted By: Christo Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 8:09pm
smile Excellent, Chris - thanks.
Posted By: Greenwood Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 9:24pm
Ooh, tasty! Thanks for posting. Will let the launch traffic die down a bit, then enjoy having a browse.
Posted By: jimbob Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 9:49pm
A good find Chris. Thanks
Posted By: AR_One Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 25th Jun 2012 10:38pm
Chris that's brilliant, I used to live in Autumn grove (at top of piccy) and the houses were newer than the rest - and now I can see what the previous large house looked like laugh
Posted By: chriskay Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 8:59am
Originally Posted by AR_One
Chris that's brilliant, I used to live in Autumn grove (at top of piccy) and the houses were newer than the rest - and now I can see what the previous large house looked like laugh


Isn't it interesting how much is still fields on the last picture? Nothing West of King's Rd. and an empty space opposite Autumn Grove where the Regal will be (1938). The allotments North of Princes Boulevard have not yet been laid out. I see King's Lane was straightened some time later than the photo. It's amazing how much information you can get from pictures like this.
Here's a link to a current view.
http://binged.it/MxXGaN
Posted By: Anonymous Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 9:14am
Picture No.3 looks as if the lower half has been "photoshopped". Not being serious of course, but they look like rows of pristine Lego houses. Maybe the card houses for the model railway ? Only one (?) motor car to maybe give it away. No people about either.
Posted By: chriskay Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 11:36am
Interesting, Pinz: I looked up those streets and they aren't in Gore's directory of 1900 but they are in Willmer's 1915, so they were between five and twenty years old in the picture. No wonder they look new.
Posted By: jimbob Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 5:12pm
Chris, at the bottom of pic No 3 you can see part of the playground of your old school. That one car is as you know in the top section of Park Road. Even in the early 50s when I was a paper boys and those roads where part of my round you very seldom saw any cars. After all it was Tranmere and the only people you saw driving round in a car was a doctor, midwifes and district nurses where on pushbikes and the landlords workmen pushed handcarts to and from the jobs on any houses.
Posted By: chris58 Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 5:55pm
they are great photos. Can I see houses in Dial Road on the Church Road photo?
Posted By: chriskay Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 6:21pm
Jimbob; yes, good old Well Lane. That thing in Park Rd. isn't a car; when I zoom in it looks like a horse and cart.
chris58; no, I think Dial Rd. is just off the bottom.

BTW, if you register on that site (could be difficult as it's still busy), you get the ability to zoom the pictures. The resolution is remarkably good.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 6:29pm
Have just registered. Considering I live a long way from the nearest Telegraph Station at the end of a long pair of dangly wires, it was reasonably quick ! The site must be settling down now.

Thanks again Chris.
Posted By: inflatablebone Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 8:21pm
Just registered ....join the Wirral group and get uploading!

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/groups/wirral

Posted By: chriskay Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 26th Jun 2012 9:34pm
I've just had another look at the vehicle in Park Rd. in picture three and I'm pretty sure it's a Hansom cab.
Posted By: bert1 Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 27th Jun 2012 8:16am
You're spot on Chris, looking at the shadows it looks like a horse is pulling a vehicle.
Posted By: chriskay Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 27th Jun 2012 4:05pm
Yes, Bert, and the thing it's pulling is only about the same length as the horse, which is why I thought it might be a Hansom. On the other hand, I have a picture somewhere of my Gran with the horse-drawn bread van she drove in the 1914-18 war and that was about the same length.
Posted By: jimbob Re: English Heritage : Britain from above - 27th Jun 2012 9:42pm
Chris, the horse drawn bread van use to come round Lower Tranmere at least till the late 40s. Think it was a red van.
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