Catalogue description Office of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues and successors: Photographs and Prints of Crown Properties

This series includes over 2000 black and white photographs of Crown properties taken since 1878. Nearly all the properties are in London, but photographs of Eltham Palace, Lindisfarne Priory and some at Windsor are included. The series also contains two photographs of an architect's sketches for a proposed hotel (CRES 43/77), two black and white prints dated 1765 of Richmond Palace (CRES 43/230) and site plans (included in CRES 43/3 and 279).

Most of the photographs are loose, though the series contains several albums. They are frequently mounted on card, and the larger ones (of which there are many) measure approximately 13 inches by 9. The photographs are usually of front elevations, but occasionally rear elevations and other views are included: eg CRES 43/27 contains photographs of decayed timbers and CRES 43/32 is an album of hall furniture (all at Eltham Palace). Several include parked vehicles and passers by. A few photographs were officially supplied (eg by the Ministry of Works) but most were taken (or processed) for the Office by private studios. Many of the earlier photographs were supplied by Bedford Lemere and Co of 147 Strand, Sydney W Newbery of 7 Stockwell Terrace (later 37 Cowley Road), Stockwell, Dover Street Studios of Mayfair, and Ernest Milner of 80 The Grove, Wandsworth.