Halley Docherty and Hannah Jane Parkinson February 25, 2014

18th-century London paintings meet Google Street View – in pictures

Famous 18th and 19th-century paintings of London are superimposed on to Google Street View screenshots for a fascinating collision

Northumberland House — Northumberland House by Canaletto (1752)
Northumberland House, to the south side of Trafalgar Square, stood from 1605 to 1874. It was demolished to make way for a road. Now it hosts a Waterstones bookshop. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

Picture of Westminster Abbey — Westminster Abbey with a Procession of Knights of the Bath by Canaletto (1749)
In 1749, Westminster Palace as we know it today was not yet built – MPs were still using the Abbey's Chamber to have Commons meetings. The Knights (seen here in red) are now known as the Most Honorourable Order of the Bath. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

River Thames — The River Thames with St. Paul’s Cathedral on Lord Mayor’s Day by Canaletto (1746)
The Millennium Bridge now sits on this stretch of the Thames, but in 1746 St Paul's stood alone in dominating London's skyline. It was London's tallest building for more than 300 years. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

st martin's — St. Martin in the Fields by William Logsdail (1888)
St Martin in the Fields church is situated on the opposite side of Trafalgar Square to Northumberland House. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

Covent Garden — Covent Garden Market by Balthazar Nebot (1737)
Covent Garden Market, built in the 1660s, was the first open square of its kind in London. In 1737, when Nebot made this work, the square was notorious as a red light district. The Market Hall only came later, in 1830. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

the strand — The Strand Looking East from Exeter Exchange by Anonymous (1822)
The Strand has been through many changes; it has been demolished and widened and replaced. Most of the buildings on the right of the painting have gone. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

9th november — The 9th of November, 1888 by William Logsdail (1890)
A Lord Mayor's Procession passes through Bank Junction in Logsdail’s painting. On the left side of the canvas is The Old Bank of England, captured here 50 years before demolition. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

pleasure gardens — View of The Grand Walk by Canaletto (1751)
The Pleasure Gardens in Vauxhall, seen in this Canaletto painting, hosted music and live entertainment during the 1600s. (It is also where Amelia's brother Joseph gets drunk in Thackeray’s novel Vanity Fair.) Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

blackman street — Blackman Street London by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1885)
The church pictured is St George the Martyr. Today, Blackman Street is called Borough High Street and offers a view of the Shard – the biggest spire you'll see looking north-east. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

greenwich — A View of Greenwich from the River by Canaletto (1750–52)
The view of Greenwich from the river remains mostly unchanged – minus a few sail boats. Photograph: shystone/Reddit Photograph: shystone / Reddit

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