2-667-798 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

Trafalgar Square, Westminster, London, 1909. Silver gelatin glass plate negative. This view, from the balloon Corona at 2000ft (610m), was taken by the pioneering balloonist Dr James Lockyer. Like his father, Sir Norman Lockyer, James was an astronomer, but he had always been 'air-minded'. He made his first balloon ascent in 1907, and served with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force in the First World War. Lockyer was familiar with photographic technology from his astronomical work, and that probably explains the high quality of this image. The Admiralty Arch, built between 1906 and 1911, can be seen under construction (centre right) between Trafalgar Square and The Mall.