In 2008, Google started driving their camera-cars around the streets of London, capturing images that have been semi-regularly updated ever since.

It’s proving to be a surprisingly useful resource when trying to see how things looked in the recent past, and could well build up over the decades into a most impressive collection of timeline photos.

Looking back, it’s also a way of seeing just how fast London’s skyline has been changing over the past decade.

To use the archive, go to a location on Google Street View, then click on “Street View” at the bottom of the black box in the top-left corner — and a selection of previous dates where photos were taken at roughly the same spot will appear.

A few samples to whet your appetite

Aldgate East

Bank

Dorset Place, Stratford

Liberty Bridge, Stratford

Nine Elms Lane

South Quays, Docklands

Temple Mills Lane

Tower Bridge

Walworth Road