Archives

Exhibition gallery

Westminster and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Download a PDF of the exhibition.  Some more of the historical images from our collection can seen on the Celebrating the Black Presence in Westminster 1520-200 page.

A Ride in the Park: a history of cycling in Westminster

Above, the "Pedestrian Hobby-Horse", sometimes called the "Walking Accelerator", was a forerunner of the bicycle invented by Denis Johnson in the early nineteenth century. It had no pedals but allowed the riders to travel up to eight miles per hour by propelling it forward with their feet.

This photograph shows the start of a cycle race at Paddington Recreation Ground in 1888 between Mr Du Cros and Mr Macready. It was the first race in which Dunlop pneumatic tyres were used. This particular race took place before the construction of the raised cycle track.

The Tour de France is not the first major stage race to be run on the streets of Westminster. The final stages of both the Milk Race and the Tour of Britain have concluded in Westminster. This photograph shows the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Mrs Terence Mallinson, congratulating Joey McLoughlin, the winner of the 1986 Milk Race at the finish on Waterloo Bridge.

Do you have any memories of cycling in Paddington - or indeed anywhere else in Westminster?  If you would like to send them to us and perhaps have them added to the exhibition, please email them to Adrian Autton  aautton@westminster.gov.uk.

You can view more images from our collections here.  See our Digital image scanning page if you would like copies of these images or any others from The City of Westminster Archives Centre collections.