Wonderful London! Video crosses vintage footage from 1924 with modern street scenes to celebrate the history of the capital

By Sarah Gordon

Published: 06:59 EDT, 30 April 2014 | Updated: 09:53 EDT, 30 April 2014

If you've ever wondered how London has changed over the years, this unique video manages to capture life in the city in both 1924 and 2014 at the same time.

The short film, created by Simon Smith, manages to splice two contrasting capitals together, showing bustling modern street scenes alongside sepia footage from the early 20th century.

While skyscrapers loom in the background, the foreground shows men in suits and bowler hats rushing to work 90 years ago, as well as horse and carriages and vintage buses.

Old and new: The video merges London in 1924 with 2014 street scenes

Past times: Romantic sepia street scenes from a series of documentary films have been set against London's modern streets

Other scenes show modern tourists sitting outside the vintage front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and the Gherkin skycraper emerging from a street scene with a horse and carriage trotting down the road.

While some scenes differ dramatically in the footage, other show parts of London that remain unchanged, despite the passing of the years.

Smith was inspired by the many still photos that have become popular, joining together destinations across the decades but realised nobody had tried a film version.

He discovered a series of archived films at the British Film Institute by two prominent documentary filmmakers from the 1920s, Parkinson and Miller.

They're 'Wonderful London' collection included 20 short films, each of around 10 minutes, including titles such as 'Flowers of London' and 'Along Father Thames to Sheppherton'.

Smith told MailOnline Travel: 'To make my film, I had to separate theirs into a set of stills, load them onto my phone, and go hunting around London, but it became a fun weekend hobby. I spent a few weekends doing this, whilst wandering around admiring the city. 

Unchanged: Trafalgar Square and its fountains remain the same, 90 years on

Perfect angle: Simon Smith spent his weekends exploring London to find the places where the original films were shot

'Once I found the location, I’d then move around with the camera, trying hard to match the angle, and small artefacts like columns or railings that might match.'

While the end product offers a spectacular glimpse of the capital from 90 years ago alongside its modern-day reality, Smith says that though time-consuming, producing the film wasn't hard.

'It wasn’t really that difficult, and I’m sure many people have had the idea, I’m just able to do these things as I live there. And I think that’s why these films appeal to people, there’s a universal love for history and London.

Theatreland: While some scenes have changes dramatically, the West Ends has remained remarkably similar

Now and then: The Lyceum Theatre in Covent Garden hasn't changed in almost a century

'I love it, especially when you see people, or when you realise the scene has barely changed like outside Dirty Dicks pub by Liverpool Street Station. Though I did notice that London is having a lot of construction work done, there’s barriers, scaffolding, traffic cones, and maybe it won’t be long before a film like this won’t be possible.'

The five-minute video, which is available in full on vimeo.com, has received rave reviews from viewers.

Ricardo Rego said: What an awesome video!!! Loved the idea of it! Impossible not to love if you love London!'

And fellow viewer Ben added: 'Great idea, beautiful executed!'