Thought that this might be of interest to people - Historic England have recently acquired the earliest surviving aerial images of England, which includes photographs of Crystal Palace, Beckenham, Catford, docklands and other areas. These were taken by Cecil Shadbolt between 1882 and 1892 before his sad demise in a ballooning accident in Crystal Palace in 1892 (something to think about next time you're in the park!). The photos and accompanying article are on the Historic England blog site at:
https://heritagecalling.com/2016/04/13/ ... ian-skies/