Historic England images reveal Oxford's past

The images are taken from Historic England’s Aerial Photography Explorer, which was launched in March.

Users are able to search and explore the online map, made up of 400,000 images, which shows aerial photographs of England taken during the last 100 years.

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The photographs reveal an insight into the development and expansion of urban centres and changes to rural environments right across the country, including in Oxford.

Images taken of Oxford show the changing face of the city and its suburbs between the 1920s and 1950s.

Historic England's Aerial Photo Explorer has revealed new photographs of Oxford from the air

Housing estates in Rose Hill and Headington are pictured being built, the pre-industrial layout of Botley can be seen and the enduring historic buildings of the university are also revealed.

Around 300,000 of the images are the work of Historic England’s Aerial Investigation and Mapping team. Established in 1967, the team takes photographs of England from the air to discover new archaeological sites, create archaeological maps and monitor the condition of historic sites across the country.

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The remaining 100,000 images come from the Historic England Archive aerial photography collection, which numbers over six million images in total, and includes important historic photography, including interwar and post-war images from Aerofilms Ltd and The Royal Air Force.

Ducan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “I am delighted that our new online tool will allow people to access easily our wonderful collection of aerial images and enjoy the historic photography that our team uses every day to unlock the mysteries of England’s past.”

Check out the photographs below: 

Between Towns Road, Garsington Road and environs, Cowley, 1930. Photograph: EPW031350 Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Oxford Corporation Sewage Farm and environs, Blackbird Leys, from the north, 1947. Photograph: AW003942. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

A housing estate under construction at New Headington, Oxford, from the north-east, 1935. Photograph: EPW047774. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Cowley Road, the Cowley Road Hospital and environs, Oxford, 1937. Photograph: EPW052777. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Botley Road and environs, Oxford, 1935. Photograph: EPW048872. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Queen Street and High Street, Oxford,1920. Photograph: EPW000848. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

The Radcliffe Library, the Bodleian Library and Trinity College, Oxford, 1950. Photograph: EAW031684. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Banbury Road and environs, Oxford, from the north, 1928. Photograph: EPW022536. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Park Town and environs, Oxford, from the north, 1928. Photograph: EPW022535. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Prefabricated housing under construction, Barton, 1946. Photograph: EAW003133. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Flooding around the railway line between South and New Hinksey, South Hinksey, from the south-west, 1947. Photograph: EAW003980. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

Rose Hill housing development, Rose Hill, 1947. Photograph: EAW003944. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

High Street, Oxford, 1920. Photograph: EPW000825. Picture: Historic England Archive. Aerofilms Collection

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