Life of London in the early 1970s Through the Lens of Norman Craig

London in the 1970s was home to various radical, often profoundly opposed trends.There were many cultural and political changes at this time, especially the high inflation levels, bomb threats from the IRA, and widespread strike action. London was transformed for the first time into a truly cosmopolitan city by the aftershocks of the British Empire’s collapse. Pop music was flavored by a new generation of immigrants and marginalized people.

Here are some fabulous photographs that captured life in London in the early 1970s. London-based photographer Norman Craig captured these photographs.

I worked in a lot of different buildings in the City from the 1970s to the 1990s. It’s likely I took some snaps in those years. I’ll look through my old negs from time to time to see if there’s anything worth uploading.

#1 Looking downriver towards Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast, London, March 1972

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#2 Looking upriver towards Tate Modern from the Monument, London, March 1972

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#3 Monument erected after the Great Fire of London. That’s Pudding Lane on the right, where the fire started in 1666, March 1972

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#4 Party of Japanese tourists waits for a late coach, London, 1972

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#5 A kiss in the rush hour, London, March 1973

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#6 Ashdown Oysters, Leadenhall Market, City of London, late evening, March 1973

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#7 Before BT Centre, London, March 1973

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#8 Cheapside, London, June 1973

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#9 Entrance to the Smithfield meat market, London, March 1973

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#10 Fashionable couple walking near St Paul’s, London, March 1973

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#11 Fixing the kerbs in Farringdon Road, London, March 1973

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#12 Fleet Street, London, June 1973

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#13 Leadenhall Market, City of London, late evening, March 1973

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#14 Leadenhall Market, City of London, late evening, March 1973

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#15 Loading the carcasses at the Smithfield meat market, London, March 1973

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#16 London Wall, March 1973

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#17 Looking for customers at St Martin within Ludgate, Ludgate Hill in the City of London, summer 1973

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#18 Lunchtime stroll by the Sir Christopher Wren pub, Paternoster Square, London, April 1973

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#19 Lunchtime stroll to check the shops and catch up on the scandal, London, April 1973

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#20 Mounted police, presumably City of London, at Ludgate Circus, summer 1973

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#21 Office worker enjoying a lunchtime sandwich near St Paul’s, London, April 1973

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#22 Office worker on Gresham Street, London, March 1973

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#23 Potman from the Sir Christopher Wren pub collects beer mugs from the seating near St Paul’s, London, April 1973

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#24 Racks of rib roasts at the Smithfield meat market, London, March 1973

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#25 Routemaster double-decker number 6 bus on Farringdon Road on the way to Kensal Rise, London, March 1973

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#26 Russian hats were all the rage, London, 1973

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#27 Scene the day after the IRA car bomb in Old Bailey, London, March 1973

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#28 Smart couple on High Holborn, London, June 1973

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#29 Striding across Ludgate Circus in the spring sunshine, London, April 1973

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#30 The remains of pig carcases, in skips ready for disposal, probably to the sausage factory, at the Smithfield meat market, London, March 1973

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#31 Wrestling with a tin of peanuts in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral, Paternoster Square, London, April 1973

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#32 City messenger on the high walk from the Barbican to Wood Street, London, March 1974

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#33 Little bit of gossip on the way to the shops, London, 1974

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