Trams were once ubiquitous in London. The first, a horse tram, was introduced in Victoria in 1860; in 1884, a cable tram was introduced for Highgate Hill; electric vehicles arrived in 1901, and by 1914, London has the largest tram network in Europe. The arrival of the diesel bus soon led to their demise, and on July 6, 1952, London's last tram made its final journey to New Cross Depot (until the year 2000, that is, when Tramlink opened in the southern borough of Croydon). Pictured above is the Kingsway tramway subway, a Grade II-listed tram tunnel, the only one of its kind in Britain, which can still be seen in Holborn.

From dancing bears to East End slums, here are 26 more remarkable images – each at least a century old – that reveal a London lost to time.