A walk through 1920s London

This surreal image was taken from the upper floors of a multi-storey stable. Reid was born in Sunderland, north-east England. He studied photography with a professional in Carlisle around 1900. At some point afterwards, he moved to London. We know he lived at 51 Grosvenor Road, Millbank, from 1930 to 1931.

After moving to London, Reid embarked on his photographic project to record a walk through the Cities of Westminster and London. The skillfully taken photos were produced between 1920 and 1933. Reid included people and traffic to bring the streets and architecture to life. They’re often dramatic, evocative and full of fascinating historical details.

By the time of his death in 1933, Reid had created over 700 photographs. He organised them into a series of albums and wrote a rhyming description to go along with his photographic journey, which he called The Route Ornate.

Photographing on the move wasn’t easy in the 1930s. Equipment was heavy, and you wouldn’t see the images until later, once the photographic plates had been developed and printed. Reid wheeled his heavy equipment around London in a handcart. Inside was a three-metre tall stepladder with an attachment for his wooden whole-plate camera, letting him take photos from an elevated viewpoint.

In this photo, motor cars and omnibuses mix with horse-drawn carts on Whitehall. It’s a timely image of the mechanical transformation London was experiencing. At this point, the cenotaph in the background was a memorial only to those who died in the First World War (1914–1918), first unveiled in 1920.

The London Pavilion, in the centre of this view, was built as a music hall in the 1880s. It later became a theatre, then a cinema. Here, in 1927, the Pavilion is still a theatre, showing Charles B Cochran's One Dam Thing After Another.

Reid also took his camera inside London landmarks. There are photos from inside the Tower of London and a number of churches. He also photographed artworks in the National Gallery, Royal Academy and Tate Gallery. This photo shows the interior of the Palace of Westminster.

This photo shows the old Lambeth Bridge, which was replaced in 1932. The sailboats are yet another relic of a past time.

A group of children lounge on a wall on the south bank of the River Thames.

Two visitors turn to face the camera as they enter the Tower, where a Beefeater watches the entrance.