Aerofilms
English Heritage, in partnership with the Royal Commissions on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Wales, has acquired the Aerofilms Collection of historical air photographs from Blom ASA. The purchase was made possible by generous financial support from English Heritage’s donors and supporters, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Friends of National Libraries. 
The collection of over 800 000 images is the best and most significant body of oblique aerial photography of the UK remaining in private hands. Dating from 1919 to 2006, it presents an unparalleled picture of the changing face of Britain in the twentieth-century. In addition to Aerofilms’ own imagery, the firm expanded its holdings with the purchase of two smaller collections – AeroPictorial (1934-1960) and Airviews (1947-1991).
The prints, negatives and associated documentation have now been transferred to specialist archival storage while plans are made for comprehensive conservation, cataloguing and digitisation of the collection. Enquiries about the project should be directed to the Aerofilms Collection Project Manager, Katy Whitaker (T: 01793 414495, katy.whitaker@english-heritage.org.uk).
Guidance for record offices and other local repositories containing Aerofilms air photographs can be found here.
At present there are very limited facilities to search the Aerofilms Collection but if you are interested in air photographs you can of course access our existing collections of more than 2.5 million images as explained in our “Holdings” web page.
In the meantime:
1) If you have an Aerofilms, AeroPictorial or Airviews image reference number then prints or scans may be supplied (subject to the availability/condition of the original) according to the NMR’s Price List and Terms and Conditions. To place an order please contact NMR Enquiry and Research Services, English Heritage, Kemble Drive, Swindon, SN2 2GZ (T: 01793 414600), nmrinfo@english-heritage.org.uk.
2) If you already have a copy of an Aerofilms, AeroPictorial or Airviews image which you would like to publish or web-mount you should contact:
a) for photographs of England and non-British areas; NMR Enquiry and Research Services, English Heritage, Kemble Drive, Swindon, SN2 2GZ (T: 01793 414600), nmrinfo@english-heritage.org.uk.
b) for photographs of Scotland; RCAHMS, John Sinclair House, 16 Bernard Terrace, Edinburgh EH8 9NX (T: 0131 662 1456), info@rcahms.gov.uk.
c) for photographs of Wales; RCAHMW, Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 1NJ (T: 01970 621200), nmr.wales@rcahmw.gov.uk.
3) There is additionally a limited service for researchers who are able to visit the NMR in Swindon to view the English Aerofilms Collection print albums. The Welsh and Scottish print albums will be available at RCAHMS and RCAHMW in the near future.
The albums are arranged topographically by place-name within pre-1974 counties. Researchers wishing to consult English print albums should contact NMR Enquiry and Research Services (T: 01793 414600) with information about the place that they are studying and its pre-1974 county. Aerofilms Collection print albums can only be accessed by prior arrangement and cannot be viewed by staff on behalf of researchers. Access cannot be guaranteed to every print album because of conservation constraints on these fragile archive items and we reserve the right to limit the amount of archive material made available for any one visit. Photocopies of print album pages will not be available but visitors to the Public Search Rooms can use a hand-held camera to take reference images for private research and reference purposes only (subject to signed agreement to the Terms and Conditions of “Personal Copying of NMR Material”). Orders for print or scan copies of images in the Aerofilms Collection print albums can be made (subject to the availability/condition of the original).
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