Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a univallate Iron Age hillfort, photographed in low sunlight that casts strong shadows, revealing banks, ditches and tracks surrounding a central, circular mound. The hillside drops steeply to the foreground and either side of the narrow spine of the hill.
British Camp Iron Age hillfort, Colwall, Herefordshire, 16 August 1958. Also known as Herefordshire Beacon Camp, excavations have revealed Iron Age and Roman pottery and a 10th-century golden coronet. © Historic England Archive. Harold Wingham Collection HAW/9389/26
British Camp Iron Age hillfort, Colwall, Herefordshire, 16 August 1958. Also known as Herefordshire Beacon Camp, excavations have revealed Iron Age and Roman pottery and a 10th-century golden coronet. © Historic England Archive. Harold Wingham Collection HAW/9389/26

Barrows to Bridges: the Harold Wingham Collection of Aerial Photographs

Contents
  1. Who was Harold Wingham?
  2. How were the photographs taken?
  3. What’s in the collection?
  4. When was the collection acquired?
  5. What can I see in the photographs?
  6. Acknowledgements
The quality of this photography is stunning.
Hall, 1997

The Harold Wingham Collection is one of the Historic England Archive's favourite collections of aerial photographs. It is celebrated because of the quality of the imagery and because of its mix of subjects. It includes architectural, archaeological and industrial sites, and views of villages and towns in the early post-war period.

Taken between 1951 and 1963, Harold’s photographs record the ancient and modern, from Iron Age hillforts to factory complexes, castles and cathedrals to docks and river crossings.

Who was Harold Wingham?

Harold Wingham has been described as an “unsung hero” and “pioneer” of aerial photography. It was a practice that he considered to be “an essential technique of modern archaeology”.

Harold was born at Calmore on the eastern edge of the New Forest in Hampshire on 7 April 1924. In 1942, aged 18, he joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and qualified as a wireless operator. He also trained as a navigator but was unable to complete the course due to illness.

Harold left the RAF in 1947. The following year he worked at the Ministry of Civil Aviation at Winstone in Gloucestershire and later for the Gloster Aircraft Corporation where he worked with large format cameras. Between 1947 and 1950, Harold obtained his Radiotelegraphy (Air) licence, Aviator’s Certificate and private pilot’s licence.

It was in the late 1940s that Harold started aerial photography. Encouraged by the archaeologist Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford, the renowned advocate for the use of aerial photography for archaeology, Harold acquired government surplus camera equipment and film. He began recording the archaeology, buildings and industries of west and south-west England.

Harold had a passion for hot air balloons and especially airships, which he promoted as a more stable and cost-effective platform for aerial photography and archaeological survey. He believed that this “new weapon in the archaeologist’s armoury” would reveal even more archaeology than had already been observed by aeroplane. In the 1960s, Harold worked on a design for a two-man airship but the project came to an unsuccessful end in the mid-1970s.

Harold’s commitment to taking photographs from the air ended in tragic circumstances. In 1963 he witnessed an air crash that killed his pilot, a close friend. Despite this, Harold’s interest in archaeology continued after he stopped flying. He became actively involved in local field archaeology, including taking part in excavations at sites in Gloucestershire. Harold was a founder member of the Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group (GADARG), later Gloucestershire Archaeology, and contributed articles to its journal ‘Glevensis’.

It was through his associations with GADARG and the Cranham Local History Society that the Historic England Archive learned of Harold’s death, aged 97, on 12 November 2021. Harold has been described as “a shy, modest and self-effacing man” whose “air photography made a unique contribution to the archaeology of Gloucestershire and far beyond”.

How were the photographs taken?

The aerial photographer using an aeroplane has many problems, several of which have to be resolved in the last couple of seconds before releasing the shutter and when engaged in archaeological work these problems are increased.
Wingham, 1970

The photographs in the Harold Wingham Collection were taken from light aeroplanes using hand-held cameras that were specifically designed for aerial photography. They were often taken from very low altitude. Harold estimated that in some instances, he had only half a second to make his exposure.

Harold recommended using a camera with a large negative size (five inch by four inch was considered ‘the most practical for most purposes’) and an eight-inch lens. Camera shake caused by strong wind, turbulence and vibration could affect the quality of photographs and so a solid, well-balanced camera with hand grips was required.

Harold used hand-held Williamson F24 and Fairchild K20 cameras. Both were designed for military aerial reconnaissance. They weighed 24 pounds and 12 pounds respectively, supporting Harold’s view that cameras should be as heavy as could be handled. Both could take magazines of roll film for scores of exposures.

Another difficulty faced by Harold was communication with his pilot. Photographs had to be taken with the aeroplane’s window open, so noise levels were high. Most photographs were taken at an angle, which meant that the aeroplane had to be turning or banking, with the pilot having little or no view of the target of the photograph.

These were just some of the challenges faced by Harold and his pilot. They help us to appreciate just how good the photographs in the Harold Wingham Collection are.

What’s in the collection?

The Harold Wingham Collection of Aerial Photographs comprises almost 2,000 photographic negatives and corresponding photographic prints. It is divided into 86 flights, which were flown between April 1951 and July 1963.

Each flight resulted in between one and over 100 photographs of one or more targets. For example, Flight UHAW1365, flown on 4 May 1958 has 28 photographs recording views of targets such as the Severn Railway Bridge, Bathurst Park, Tintern Abbey and St Briavel’s Castle.

The photographs in the collection cover sites in the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire.

Harold Wingham Collection sites map

Click on the map pins to explore the places photographed by Harold Wingham.

When was the collection acquired?

Harold Wingham contacted the National Buildings Record (NBR), a predecessor of the Historic England Archive, in 1957. The offer of aerial photographs of “big houses, castles and similar subjects” was met positively. A set of sample images was described as “excellent” and a request for 51 of Harold’s prints was made. Around the same time, Harold was also offering his photographs to the Paul Popper Ltd Photographic Agency.

In 1970, the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, which had merged with the NBR in 1963, renewed its interest in Harold’s photography. The Commission’s Air Photograph’s Officer, John Hampton, wrote to Harold to request more photographs to enhance its Air Photographs Library. In the 1990s, the Commission acquired further sets of negatives, including those that he had previously produced for Paul Popper, and two of Harold’s cameras.

What can I see in the photographs?

The subjects in the Harold Wingham Collection of Aerial Photography can be divided into three broad categories: archaeology, buildings and places, and industry and transport.

Archaeology

Aerial photography is an essential technique of modern archaeology, yet there is still a good deal of improvement in its practice. Light aeroplanes are used for most oblique work, particularly for relatively low-level work, but not being designed for aerial photography they are far from satisfactory.
Wingham, 1970

Harold Wingham’s aerial photographs record archaeological features, prehistoric settlements and ancient monuments in the varied landscapes of west and south-west England, from barrows and hillforts to stone circles and deserted medieval villages.

Often utilising strong, low, raking light, Harold’s oblique photographs reveal the banks, ditches hollows, upright stones and low walls of hillforts and other monuments with contrasting light and shadow, which otherwise may not have been so visible in the landscape.

Gallery

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a univallate Iron Age hillfort, photographed in low sunlight that casts strong shadows, revealing banks, ditches and tracks surrounding a central, circular mound. The hillside drops steeply to the foreground and either side of the narrow spine of the hill. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of long barrow set diagonally in the centre of the image. Trapezoid in shape, the barrow tapers towards the left. At the wider end is a wide, curved recess. At the opposite end is a narrow, elongated recess. The barrow is enclosed by a stone wall and is bordered by grassy fields, a field of cereal and dense woodland. Black and white oblique photograph that reveals a patchwork quilt-like view of irregular-shaped enclosures bounded by low stone walls. Several of the enclosures appear relatively bare of vegetation, whilst one shows signs of a growing crop. To the left side of the photograph is an area of heath lined with narrow, winding tracks. Just above the centre of the photograph is an overgrown archaeological feature enclosed by a roughly circular wall. Inside the enclosure there is evidence of the remains of straight and curved walls. Black and white oblique aerial photograph taken at low altitude showing a circular multivallate hillfort set in a stretch of heath. Two concentric banks are discernible. The outer one is covered in vegetation, with relatively little stone showing. The inner one shows considerably more exposed stone, including surviving walling. There is a narrow path running through both banks and through the centre of the inner enclosure. A pair of upright stones mark the entrance to the inner enclosure. At the top of the photograph a hedge separates the heath from enclosed fields of pasture. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a stone circle set in a field and boarded by a track, fields and in the foreground a hedge-lined road. A track runs across the central field and through the ring of stones. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of part of a village and a circular henge enclosure featuring inner and outer ditches on either side of a grassy bank. The upper half of the photograph features multiple fields and a tree-lined road or track heading into the distance. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a prehistoric earthwork on a hilltop. A curving bank and ditch encloses an area pocked with pits and mounds. In the foreground, the hillside drops dramatically, exposing a steep cliff face topped by a wall. Fields and hedges extend into the distance beyond the enclosure. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a prehistoric earthwork on a hilltop. Curving banks and ditches dominate the centre of the image, enclosing a triangular area featuring hollows and mounds. Fields and woodland extend into the distance. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of an archaeological site. In the centre is a house-like building, sent in lawns surrounded by lines of excavated walls marking the positions of former buildings. The ground is terraced and sloped to the front of the house, leading to grassland. To the sides and rear of the site are areas of woodland.

Buildings and places

As well as photographing archaeological features in the landscape, Harold Wingham recorded historic, and sometimes more recent, buildings.

Favourite subjects include well-known abbeys and cathedrals, parish churches, castles and country houses. Some views show buildings in the wider context of their settings or more general shots of towns, such as the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, or the streets of Great Malvern backed by the majestic Malvern Hills.

Gallery

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a seaside harbour comprising an inner harbour enclosed by two harbour arms and a larger harbour, also enclosed with two harbour arms. Various sized boats dot the harbours. A calm sea is at the top of the photograph and to the right small, enclosed fields on a hillside flank a road that leads to the heart of the fishing port where buildings of various sizes cluster together at the bottom left of the photograph. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of the remains of a circular, crenelated, stone-walled castle, set on a grassy mound and surrounded by a ditch and bank. On the inside of the castle wall are rooms demarcated by the remains of walls, all of which are roofless. In the foreground, the remains of a square tower project from the curve of the castle wall. Black and white oblique aerial photograph taken at low altitude. The view shows the garden front of a large country house with parkland and trees beyond. The bulk of the photograph shows a formal garden arrangement, comprising two terraces, the second with sunken lawns divided by a gravel path that extends towards a rose garden enclosed by a circular walk and divided into four segments by cruciform gravel walks. Dense clusters of trees flank the house and surround the gardens. Black and white oblique aerial photograph taken at low altitude. Across the foreground is a stretch of grassy parkland with a bandstand enclosed by a low hedge. Narrow paths and a tree-lined walk follow the line of a river. On the other bank of the river is the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre flanked by grassy parkland, beyond which the town extends towards distant fields, clumps of trees and hills. A narrow stretch of cloudy sky stretches across the top of the photograph. Black and white oblique aerial photograph showing a multitude of buildings of a town situated at the base of a range of undulating hills. Much of the town is well spread out, with trees and open spaces lining roads and separating well-spaced detached and semi-detached houses. The houses stand out, illuminated by low sunlight. Many of them have large front and rear gardens that frame long shadows. A railway line runs across the foreground and several church towers and steeples can be seen amongst the trees and houses. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a ruined abbey site surrounded by town centre houses, church, market place and roads. The central feature is a surviving abbey church and adjacent graveyard. Extending behind and into the distance are fields, including a cricket pitch. Black and white oblique aerial photograph featuring in the foreground a stone castle with crenelated walls and inner and outer courtyards. Tall trees extend across the centre of the photograph. Adjacent to the castle and stretching beyond the trees are fields bounded by hedges and clusters of trees. In the left middle distance are houses, gardens and a narrow bridge. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a multi-phase site set around a courtyard and a smaller cloister. Dominant in one corner is an octagonal tower that projects out beyond two elevations of the building. Neat paths and lawns front the two sides closest to the camera. Beyond a ha-ha are untended open areas and at the far side of the larger courtyard, to the top-left of the photograph, are clumps of trees. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a circular prison site surrounded by fields, woodland, residential streets and gardens. Multi-storey accommodation wings and ancilliary buildings radiate from the centre of the prison. A rectangular central area with road and tended lawns extends towards the far side of the prison complex that includes entrance gates and a series of high walls separating the farthest segment of the prison from the rest.

Industry and transport

Harold Wingham's aerial photography includes views of buildings and infrastructure relating to industry and transport. Many of the sites Harold photographed had a long history and were closely related to local geography and resources. Several were soon to face uncertain futures.

Today, Harold’s photographs are an important record of industries that have survived, and those that have since declined, and of the engineering feats and transport infrastructure that have since been demolished.

Gallery

Please click on the gallery images to enlarge.

Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a town centre. The centre of the photograph is dominated by multi-storey factory buildings, their adjacent tall chimneys, and the square tower of the parish church. Streets of houses and commercial buildings fill much of the photograph. Rectilinear fields bounded by hedges and trees extend into the distance. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a large factory complex surrounded on three sides by streets with terraced and semi-detached housing and industrial buildings. The factory features one- and two-storey buildings with parallel rows of saw-tooth roofs, and flat-roofed blocks of two and three storeys. Tall chimneys extend from several industrial sites in the photograph. To the rear of the factory is a patch of muddy or sandy ground adjacent to a stretch of river. Beyond the river are fields and a further expanse of town. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a railway bridge spanning a river. The centre of the bridge is dominated by two wide spans carrying massive arched trusses. Boats and barges dot the river. Beyond the bridge are rows of new estate housing and in the far distance are docks harbouring large ships, including two aircraft carriers. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a stretch of curving river flanked by wooded hills. The centre of the photograph is dominated by two rows of five closely moored cargo ships. Beyond is a further row of four ships. In the foreground is a small vehicle ferry partway across the river. It carries a variety of cars and vans on its flat, squat deck. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of an airfield surrounded by fields. The three sections of runway are clearly visible and form a capital letter A shape on its side. A perimeter road skirts round part of the airfield. Just right of centre are the main airfield buildings, comprising several hangar-like structures. Beyond the airfield clusters of buildings and trees can be seen amongst the patchwork of fields. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a mill building standing on a small island of land between a stretch of river, a weir and a lock. The stillness of the river contrasts with the rushing water and white foam of the weir, which rushes leftwards behind the mill. On the opposite side of the river, to the right of the photograph, lawned gardens extend down to the riverside. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a concrete grain silo. The tall silo, which has twelve upright cylinder-like segments to its front, stands in the middle foreground. It is fronted by a railway siding and another track that crosses the front of the photograph. Behind and to the right of the silo are two large, detached houses, and behind to the left are streets with various domestic and other buildings. In the top-right corner is a large gothic church with a tower topped with a spire that is truncated by the edge of the photograph. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of china clay works in a landscape of fields bordered with stone walls and hedges, and patches of woodland. The right foreground includes part of a water-filled pit. Stretching across much of the middle and background of the photograph is evidence of excavation and mounds of waste, making the landscape appear filled with miniature white mountains. Black and white oblique aerial photograph of a construction site adjacent to a stretch of river. Much of the bottom section of the photograph is calm water. The central section features the construction site of a nuclear power station, including the erection of two reactor buildings. Beyond the construction site are fields bordered with hedges and trees. Parallel lines in the fields suggest evidence of ridge and furrow ploughing.

Acknowledgements

The Historic England Archive would like to thank Richard Savage, Lydia Savage, Michael Hare, Ray Wilson and Phillip Cox for generously sharing their knowledge and memories of the late Harold Wingham and his work.

Sources

Cox, P, 2022 ‘Obituary: Harold Wingham (1924-2021)’ in Glevensis: Gloucestershire Archaeology Annual Review, No 54: 2021, 2-3

Hall, G, 1997 ‘Harold Wingham: pioneer aerial photographer’ in AARGnews 15 (September 1997), 9-11

Luffman, C, 2013 ‘The Gloster Story: A Tale of Two Airships That Were One’ in Dirigible: The Journal of the Airship Heritage Trust, No. 70 (Autumn 2013), 18-21

Wingham, H, 1970 ‘Airships and Archaeology’ in GLEVENSIS The Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group Review, No. 5, 2-7

Also of interest

Three online galleries co-created with former associates of Harold Wingham can be viewed on the Google Arts & Culture website:

Also of interest

Find Photos