Aerial photos show 100 years of changing landscape

22 March 2022

Aerial photographs showing 100 years of changes to the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire landscape have been made available via an online archive.

Historic England said its Aerial Photography Explorer, external provided a "fascinating insight" and offered "striking discoveries" in the two regions.

It features more than 400,000 images taken across the country from 1919 to the present day.

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Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/DAVID MACLEOD
Image caption,
The blast furnaces at the Scunthorpe Steelworks where molten iron is produced from iron ore, coke and limestone. All four furnaces were named after queens of England including Queen Anne, pictured in 2016
Image source, Historic England
Image caption,
The airfield at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, as seen in 1955 when the runways and other infrastructure were expanded to accommodate the Avro Vulcan aircraft
Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/DAVID MACLEOD
Image caption,
The Chain Home radar at Bempton, in East Yorkshire, can be seen top right in this 2013 photograph. Closer to the sea there is another collection of concrete buildings including one for an early warning radar, which was developed in response to the Soviet Union testing of atomic weapons in 1949, Historic England said
Image source, Historic England
Image caption,
This picture of North Yorkshire's Saltburn-by-the-Sea is believed to have been taken by a low-flying RAF reconnaissance aircraft, most likely a Spitfire, in 1949
Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/MATTHEW OAKEY
Image caption,
Whetley Mills in Bradford as photographed in 2009. The mill is among a number showing Bradford’s rich textile heritage. It was described in 1893 publication ‘The Century's Progress’ as among the largest and best organised establishments in the Bradford spinning industry, but the reality was far from flawless with working conditions being hazardous, Historic England said
Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/AEROFILMS COLLECTION
Image caption,
The East Hecla steelworks in Sheffield, photographed here in 1946, produced nearly 290,000 artillery shells in World War One. From 1917 some of the factory’s capacity was converted to manufacture 60-pounder guns and later shells during World War Two
Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/DAVID MACLEOD
Image caption,
This image, taken in 2013, shows the remains of Leighton Construction Camp at Breary Banks in North Yorkshire. It was originally constructed to house workers building Leighton reservoir but became a training camp for the Leeds City Battalion during World War One. From 1917 it was used as a prisoner of war camp
Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/AEROFILMS COLLECTION
Image caption,
This photo of the docks in Hull was taken in 1925 when the city was a major centre for imports and exports. The Humber Dock closed to shipping in 1967, but reopened as Hull Marina in 1983
Image source, HISTORIC ENGLAND/DAVID MACLEOD
Image caption,
Three dark circles in the crops in Tallington, Lincolnshire, show the site of ditches that once surrounded Bronze Age burial sites. Historic England said the line of pits was another common archaeological feature in this part of Lincolnshire

The organisation said it hoped people would use the online archive to research their local areas and gain "an insight into a century of changes and development".

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