The Aerofilms Collection

Wembley Stadium, 1935 ©English Heritage. NMR The Aerofilms Collection is a unique air photographs archive of international importance.   It includes 1.26 million negatives and more than 2000 photograph albums.  

Dating from 1919 to 2006, the total collection presents an unparalleled picture of the changing face of Britain in the twentieth-century.   It includes the largest and most significant number of air photographs of Britain taken before 1939.

The collection is very varied including urban, suburban, rural, coastal and industrial scenes.   This provides important evidence for understanding and managing the built and natural environments.

Background to the collection

The collection was created by Aerofilms Ltd, a pioneering air survey company set up by World War I veterans F. L. Wills and C. Grahame-White in 1919.    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).

This very large collection of historical air photographs was bought by English Heritage, in partnership with the Royal Commissions on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and Scotland, from Blom ASA in 2007.

This was possible because of generous financial support from English Heritage’s donors and supporters, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Friends of National Libraries.

Where is the collection?

The negatives, albums and associated documentation are in specialist archival storage at the National Monuments Record (NMR) in Swindon.  The albums containing photographs are held in England, Wales and Scotland according to their coverage (see the addresses below).

The collection needs to be conserved and catalogued.   We’re then planning to scan the images, so they can be made available online.  

For further information about the Aerofilms Collection please email Aerofilms or telephone 01793 414495.

How can I access the collection?

At present there’s a limited service for researchers:

• English Aerofilms Collection albums can be viewed at the Public Search Room in Swindon.   Please contact NMR Enquiry and Research Services, English Heritage, Kemble Drive, Swindon, SN2 2GZ.
  Tel: 01793 414600
  Email: nmrinfo@english-heritage.org.uk.
• Welsh Aerofilms Collection albums can be viewed at RCAHMW in Aberystwyth.   Please contact RCAHMW, Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 1NJ
  Tel: 01970 621200
  Email: nmr.wales@rcahmw.gov.uk.
• Scottish Aerofilms Collection albums can be viewed at RCAHMS in Edinburgh.   Please contact RCAHMS, John Sinclair House, 16 Bernard Terrace, Edinburgh EH8 9NX
  Tel: 0131 662 1456,
  Email: info@rcahms.gov.uk.

These albums can only be viewed, in person, by prior arrangement. We’re unable to search on behalf of enquirers due to the amount of material available.   Access can’t be guaranteed to every album because of conservation constraints on these fragile archives.

We reserve the right to limit the amount of archive material made available for any one visit.

It is not possible to photocopy album pages.

Ordering

Orders for print or scan copies of images found in the albums can be made, subject to the availability/condition of the original negative.

If you already have an Aerofilms, AeroPictorial or Airviews image reference number then prints or scans can be supplied (subject to the availability/condition of the original negative) according to English Heritage 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
Tel: 01793 414600
Email: nmrinfo@english-heritage.org.uk.

If you already have a copy of an Aerofilms, AeroPictorial or Airviews image which you’d like to publish or web-mount you should contact:

• for photographs of England and non-British areas:
  NMR Enquiry and Research Services, English Heritage, Kemble Drive, Swindon, SN2 2GZ
  Tel: 01793 414600
  Email: nmrinfo@english-heritage.org.uk.
• for photographs of Scotland:
  RCAHMS, John Sinclair House, 16 Bernard Terrace, Edinburgh EH8 9NX
  Tel: 0131 662 1456
  Email: info@rcahms.gov.uk.
• for photographs of Wales:
  RCAHMW, Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 1NJ
  Tel: 01970 621200
  Email: nmr.wales@rcahmw.gov.uk.


And here’s our policy for local archive repositories:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.18494

Other aerial photograph collections taken by the RAF, the Ordnance Survey, Meridian Airmaps Ltd, and our own flyers are held by each of the organisations for England, Wales and Scotland.  Please contact them direct for more information about access to these collections.