Aerial view of the district from 1928 (From Craven Herald)

Aerial view of the district from 1928

12:00pm Monday 9th July 2012 in News

An archive of aerial photographs of Britain has been released on the internet, giving a glimpse of Craven as it was more than 80 years ago.

The Britain from Above website shows photographs of Skipton and Silsden that have gone previously unseen.

The 16,000 photographs date from 1919 to 1953 and the 10 photographs of Skipton from 1928 show how much has changed in 84 years.

Where Morrisons is now there was an auction mart and there are photographs from above Ermysted’s Grammar School which is very much smaller than the expanded buildings of today.

The same photograph shows the old Skipton Union Workhouse, of which some buildings including the main block and the infirmary, have survived and been converted into housing.

Rebecca Bailey, head of education and outreach at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, said: “Between 1919 and 1953, there was vast and rapid change to the social, architectural and industrial fabric of Britain.”

The website allows users to identify and provide information on the aerial shots by adding comments and photographs of their own.

“We hope that people today will be able to immerse themselves in the past through the new website, adding their own thoughts and memories to this remarkable collection.”

By the end of 2014, 95,000 images will be online leaving the project with 79,000 photographs left to conserve, scan and make available to the public.

A view of Bolton Abbey from 1928 also features on the website showing little changes between then and the present day.

The archive can be found at britainfromabove.org.uk