Underneath the city streets, stowed away in basements, and behind the intricate facades of London’s famous buildings, there is a world of forgotten or rarely seen sights that are filled with history. Photographer Peter Dazeley got access to photograph these secret nooks and crannies in more than 50 iconic buildings in London. Some of the spaces are still in use, others have been transformed from their original purpose, and still others have been derelict for years. But all of the places presented in Unseen London, published by Frances Lincoln with text by Mark Daly, speak to the vibrant life and secret history of the city’s bygone years.
Left, the main pump room of the Crossness Pumping Station. London’s Vicorian-era sewage system was a work of art, as evidenced by the infrastructure that still exists. The system was decommissioned in the mid-1900s, but the Crossness station was renovated in 1985.
Courtesy Peter Dazeley 2013 / Frances Lincoln Limited 2014
In 1694, a group of four buildings that eventually became the Old Royal Naval College served as a Royal Hospital for former members of the British Navy. The one remaining piece of evidence of this time is the skittle (bowling for the Stateside reader) alley beneath the King William building. According to Unseen London, the residents of the Royal Hospital “once enjoyed fierce after-dinner contests here using practice wooden cannon balls as bowling balls.”
Courtesy Peter Dazeley 2013 / Frances Lincoln Limited 2014
We would venture to say that most people would recognize Big Ben, the iconic clock tower looming over Westminster Palace. But we would guess that few have seen the inner workings, as in this image from inside the south clock face.
Courtesy Peter Dazeley 2013 / Frances Lincoln Limited 2014
County Hall has lived many lives. Today the space is part luxury hotel, part budget accomodations. But in the past, it was the home of the Greater London Council, which was disbanded in 1986. A reminder of this history remains in the form of the octagonal Council Chamber, which still sits as it was beneath the fancy—and unsuspecting—visitors going about their daily business.
Another unusual room that sits incongruously belowground is King Henry VIII’s wine cellar, now situated under the Ministry of Defense. The room was originally a part of Whitehall Palace, but when the palace was destroyed, it was relocated to its current space.
The famous Harrow School has a long list of noteworthy graduates, from Churchill and Byron to Benedict Cumberbatch. And starting in 1701, most of them have carved their names into the walls of the ground floor Fourth Form room.
Alexandra Palace Theater is one of the history-filled buildings that today sits disused and in disrepair. With the capacity to seat 2,500 people, the auditorium was built in 1875, but hasn’t hosted a performance since 1933. Throughout its history, it has servd as a movie theater, the BBC TV offices, and a strategic military base during World War II.
They just don’t make bank vaults like they used to. This 25-ton entrance to the vault made its debut as a “modern wonder” at Wembley’s British Empire Exhibition in 1924. At the time, Midland Bank held a presitious position in the financial world as one of the largest banks around, and the secure portal to where the money was kept helped prove it.
Unseen London is available now from Frances Lincoln.
