London Bridge, London, England

Since Roman times a bridge has existed over the River Thames at or near the present location of the London Bridge since approximately 50 AD. In 1799 a competition was held to replace the old bridge, which was over 600 years old.

The bridge was finally replaced by a structure of five stone arches, as pictured below, designed by engineer John Rennie. Construction began in 1824 and the foundation stone was laid on 15 June 1825. King William IV and Queen Adelaide attended the official opening on 1 August 1831.

In 1896, it was estimated that 900 vehicles and 8,000 pedestrians crossed the bridge every hour, making it the busiest point in London. The bridge was widened between 1902 and 1904 by 4 metres in an attempt to combat London's traffic congestion. The widening eventually proved too stressful on the bridge's foundations and it was later discovered that the bridge was sinking over 2 cm every eight years.

In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market for sale. On 18 April 1968, Rennie's London Bridge was sold ro Robert P. McCulloch, an American business man, for US$2,460,000. It is thought that he mistakenly believed he was buying Tower Bridge.

As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was numbered to assist with the assembly of the bridge at Lake Havasu City in Arizona, United States. The reconstruction spans the Bridgewater Channel canal and is the centrepience of an English style theme park. After the Grand Canyon, Rennie's London Bridge has become Arizona's second biggest tourist attraction.

 

The current bridge, built between 1967 and 1972, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 March 1973 and is the latest in a succession of bridges to occupy the spot and claim the name, London Bridge.

London Bridge, London, England
by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of London Bridge in London, England, which was taken towards the end of the 19th century. The photograph shows people crossing the Thames by horse and cart. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-08569). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the range of products featuring this vintage photochrom of London Bridge.

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Hasting Promenade - Pick of the Week

The pick of the week from OldeWorldGifts at Zazzle is this great vintage print of Hastings Promenade in Sussex, England - showing people standing along the promenade looking out at the ocean as the waves crash against the sea wall.

Hastings Promenade, Hastings, Sussex, England 

by OldeWorldGifts

  

Vintage Photomechanical print of the promenade at Hastings, Sussex, England, which was taken towards the end of the 19th century. The photograph shows a view of the promenade towards East Cliff, taken from the pier. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-08428). 

Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the range of products featuring this wonderful historic image.

Dunnottar Castle, Scotland

Dunnottar Castle is a ruined medieval castle which is located on the north-east coast of Scotland near Stonehaven, on a rocky headland with steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea 50 metres below.


The site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages, however the surviving buildings are mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries. 


From the Middle Ages, Dunnottar Castle played an important strategic role throughout Scotland's history due to its location. It overlooked the shipping lanes to northern Scotland and was situated on a narrow coastal terrace that controlled access via land to the south coast dueing the medieval period.

Dunottar Castle, Stonehaven, Scotland by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of Dunottar Castle in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-07682). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products featuring this beautiful vintage print.

Castle Street, Aberdeen, Scotland

A view of Castle Street in Aberdeen Scotland - which shows the old municipal buildings, the Market Cross and the back of the statue of the Fifth Duke of Gordon.

This area would be filled with market stalls and throngs of people coming to buy all that they need. It was the hub of all activity in the town. Today, Castle Street continues to be a thriving part of Aberdeen with businesses, bars and restaurants.

Castle Street, Aberdeen, Scotland by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of Castle Street and Municipal Buildings in Aberdeen, Scotland, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-07513). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products featuring this beautiful vintage print.

Balmoral Castle, Scotland

Balmoral Castle is well known as the summer royal residence for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. It has been a royal residence since 1848, when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert leased it from the trustees of Sir Robert Gordon, who had died in 1847. In 1852, they paid approximately £30,000 for full ownership of the estate. 

Prince Albert, with William Smith, made immediate plans to extend the existing castle. The new castle was partly designed by Prince Albert and was built close to the original castle.

Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone on 28 September 1853, which can be found at the foot of the wall, adjacent to the west face of the entrance porch. Before the stone was laid, a bottle containing a parchment signed and dated by Queen Victoria and each of the current coins of the realm, was inserted into a cavity below the stone. Balmoral Castle was completed in 1856.

Balmoral is privately owned by the Queen and is not part of the royal estate which is owned by the English Government. Following the abdication of Edward VIII, his brother, King George VI, had to buy Balmoral in order to keep them as residences of the monarch.

Balmoral Castle, Royal Deeside, Scotland by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy of LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-07532). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products featuring this beautiful vintage print.

University of Glasgow, Scotland

The University of Glasgow is located in Glasgow, is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the fourth oldest university in theEnglish-speaking world.

The university was founded in 1451 by a papal bull issued by Pope Nicholas V. It is one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the world and is ranked amongst the top ten British universities for teaching quality.

Glasgow University Print

by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-07600). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products available featuring this picturesque vintage photochrom of Glasgow Univeristy in Scotland.

Midnight Sun in Bell Sound Norway

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon which occurs at and near to the Arctic and Antarctic circles, which means that the sun does not set during the summer months. This means that the sun can be seen 24 hours a day during fair weather.The length of time the sun is above the horizon is dependent on the proximity to the poles - it varies from 20 hours at the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle to 186 days at the two poles. 

Midnight Sun Print

by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of the midnight sun in Bell Sound, Norway, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-06255). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products featuring this amazing vintage photochrom of the Midnight Sun.

Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is located in Berlin and the original church was built in the 1890s. Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to name the church in honour of Kaiser Wilhelm I, his grandfather. The foundation stone was laid on Wilhelm I's birthday, 22 March 1891. 

A competition was held for the design of the church, which was won by Franz Heinrich Schwechten, who was one of the most famous German architects of his time. He prepared a design of a church with a 113 meter-high tower, retaining late Romanesque style elements.


The church was consecrated on 1 September 1895. At this time, the entrance hall in the lower section had not been completed. This was opened and consecrated on 22 February 1906. During the Second World War, on the night of 23 November 1943, the church was irreparably damaged in an air raid, with only part of the spire and the entrance hall surviving.

The new church with a foyer and a separate belfry with an attached chapel, was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall.

Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church by OldeWorldGifts Vintage photomechanical print of Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. Photograph courtesy LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsca-00341). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products featuring this beautiful old church.

Lourdes, Pyrenees - City and Castle

Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the Hautes-Pyrenees area in the Midi-Pyrenees region in south-western France. Up until 1858, Lourdes was a quiet, county-town with a population of approximately 4,000 people.

On 11 February 1858, a 14-year-old local girl, Bernadette Soubirous, said that a beautiful lady appeared to her in the remote Grotto of Massabielle. The lady appeared 18 times and identified herself as "the Immaculate Conception" and many believe she is the Blessed Virgin Mary.

By 1859, only a year following the apparitions, thousands of pilgrims were visiting Lourdes. Since then, Lourdes has become a major place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics and there has been a number of alleged miraculous healings (The Roman Catholic Church has officially recognied 67 healings which occurred at Lourdes).

Lourdes current population is approximately 15,000 but it is estimated that it has 5 million visitors each season (from March to October). It has also been estimated that there has been approximately 200 million pilgrimages to Lourdes since 1860.

Lourdes, Pyrenees - City and Castle

by OldeWorldGifts

Photograph of Lourdes, situated in the Pyrenees in France, which was taken at the end of the 19th century. The photograph shows the city of Lourdes and castle, with the mountains in the background. Photograph courtesy LOC LC-DIG-ppmsc-05301. Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range of products available with this picturesque photochrom of Lourdes.

Pouhon, Spa, Liege, Belgium - A Famous Hot Spring

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was very popular for royalty and members of the upper classes to frequent natural hot springs to rejuvenate themselves. As a result, the towns with natural springs all over Europe became resort towns, with grandiose bathing houses for their wealthy guests.

In Belgium, the source of the hot spring was called a Pouhon and arguably the most famous pouhon was the Pouhon Pierre Le Grand. The Russian Tsar, Peter the Great visited the town in 1717, and the pouhon was named after him. In the late nineteenth century, the building in the photochrom below was built on the site of the pouhon.

 

Pouhon, Spa, Liege, Belgium

by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of a pouhon in Spa, Belgium, which was taken towards at the end of the 19th century. The photograph shows one of the most famous 'pouhons' otherwise known as a water well or water source. This pouhon is known as Pouhon Pierre Le Grand, which was named after the Russian Tsar Peter the Great who visited the town in 1717. The building where the well is situated dates from 1880. Photograph courtesy LOC LC-DIG-ppmsc-05720. Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the full range range of products available with the beautiful old photochrom

Schafberg Mountain in Salzburg - Hotel with a View

This hotel on Schafberg Mountain in Salzburg, Austria, could arguably have the most amazing views in the world. While this photochrom was taken in the late nineteenth century, it is still operated as a hotel today. The perfect holiday spot for those that love adventure and do not have a fear of heights!

Schafberg Mountain in Salzburg
by OldeWorldGifts

Vintage photomechanical print of Schafberg Mountain in Salzburg, Austria, which was taken towards the end of the 19th century. The photograph shows a hotel, with arguably the best views in the world, located at the very peak of the mountain before a sheer drop. Photograph courtesy LOC (LC-DIG-ppmsc-09269). Visit OldeWorldGifts to see the range of products featuring this photochrom.