Stunning black and white photographs of Hitchin from above prove big hit: View our evocative gallery of archive images
Stunning black and white aerial images of Hitchin are proving to be a big hit.
The Britain from Above site features images from the Aerofilms collection, a unique aerial photographic archive - including a number of stunning shots of our town from above.
The collection includes 1.26 million negatives and more than 2000 photograph albums and includes includes the largest and most significant number of air photographs of Britain taken before 1939 as well as post-war images.
The collection, which dates from 1919 to 2006, presents an unparalleled picture of the changing face of Britain in the 20th century - including Hitchin.
Among the fascinating aerial shots are images of St Mary's Church and the town centre between the wars, as well as what is now Hitchin Girls' School.
Keen Hitchin historian and passionate advocate of our town, Danny Pearson said: "These aerial shots of our town are fascinating.
"I would love for someone with a drone to be able to do a few shots of how these scenes look now.
"One of my favourites from the site is the photograph entitled 'The Grammar School, Hitchin, 1924'.
"You can clearly see Hitchin Girls School and the row of houses on Highbury Road next to the Post Office, but everything else looks completely different. It looks like a lot of the land on the hill used to be covered with allotments.
"The aerial shots of St Marys Church also show how many of the gorgeous buildings with character have disappeared over the years.
"You can see that many of the old surrounding buildings have been torn down and replaced with buildings a little less pleasing to the eye."
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