Aerial photographs available at Huntingdon Record Office:
RAF Surveys
Systematic coverage of the County of Huntingdonshire was made by
the RAF in 1945-46. At this time, Huntingdonshire County Council
had a common boundary with the Soke of Peterborough County Council
and all the land immediately South of the river (now the Southern
suburbs of Peterborough) was part of Huntingdonshire. Therefore,
aerial photographs of Fletton, Stanground, Orton Longueville and
Orton Waterville are included. A set of these prints is available
for consultation at Huntingdon Record Office.
Huntingdon Record Office also hold prints of various 1957-58
surveys made by the RAF of specific parts of the County. Those
relevant to the Peterborough area include a set of photographs of
Fletton, photographs of the A1 improvement work at Norman Cross,
and the Peterborough City area. Note: All Royal Air Force
photography is Crown Copyright: Huntingdon Record Office can only
supply photocopies for private, unpublished research. Reprints may
be obtained from the Task Progress Officer, JARIC, Royal Air Force,
Brampton, Huntingdon, Cambs PE18 8QL. Questions about copyright and
reproduction in publications should be addressed to the Ministry of
Defence, CS(MPS) Co-ord 3B, Room 2/40, Metropole Building,
Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BL.
From the 1960s onwards local authorities ordered aerial
photographs from private companies. Photographs of the Peterborough
area taken on this basis include those within the systematic county
coverage that was undertaken by BKS Surveys Ltd in 1971 on behalf
of the County of Huntingdon and Peterborough. As well as some taken
by Meridian Airmaps Ltd 1965 of the Nene Valley area; and those
taken by Meridian in 1965 and 1969 of Peterborough. Sets of these
prints are available for consultation at Huntingdon Record Office.
As with the RAF surveys, Huntingdon Record Office can only supply
photocopies for private research only, not for publication.
Aerial photographs held at Peterborough Central Library:
- Aerofilms (with no rights of reproduction). Mostly
oblique.
- Peterborough City, mostly central area, 1924-1947.
- Peterborough City, plus industrial estates, schools, factories
etc c1969-c1982.
Cambridgeshire County Council (with no rights of
reproduction).
- All vertical (NB: all Ministry of Defence establishments have
been blacked-out).
Peterborough District Council area, 1988.
Photoair
(Mostly with rights of reproduction).
- Mostly oblique and mostly urban Peterborough, especially
industrial estates, factories, office blocks, townships, Hampton,
railways, hospitals, Business Park, Rivergate. Also Glinton By-pass
under construction. All c1973-c2000.
Aerographics
(with all rights of reproduction).
- Mostly oblique.
- Urban Peterborough, especially the City Centre, Cathedral,
Hampton under construction, Riverside Estate on Sugar Beet factory
site).
- Rural area: especially country houses (Milton Hall, Orton Hall,
Thorpe Hall, Ufford Hall, Walcot Hall, Burghley House), farm
buildings formerly monastic sites (Belsize, Northam, Eyebury,
Oxney), castles (Maxey 'castle', Woodcroft Castle), and site of
Norman Cross Prisoner of War Camp.
- All 1999-2003.
- Also A1 enlargement to motorway (Alconbury-Fletton Junction)
1997/98.
Other places to try:
The Ordnance Survey holds a large archive of aerial photographs
from the early 1970s onwards: Contact Ordnance Survey
Ramsey Road
Maybush
Southampton
SO9 4DH
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/
Cambridge University has also taken a large number of aerial
photographs of this part of England: Contact the Department of
Aerial Photography
Mond Building
Free School Lane
Cambridge
CB2 3RF
Both of these bodies supply prints. Peterborough City Council's
Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) has oblique aerial photographs
showing archaeological sites:
Contact Ben Robinson
Peterborough City Council Archaeology Service
Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery
Priestgate
Peterborough
PE1 1LF
Further information about aerial photographs may be found in
NAPLIB's Directory of Aerial Photographic Collections in the UK
(1993).
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