Old images of a past England have been collected for the first time in a new book.

The charming pictures in Lost England, taken between 1870 and 1930, show the country when it was a world power.

While many appear to depict quaint scenes of rural idyll, others also show the abject poverty which gripped the lives of many people the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Construction of Manchester Ship Canal, 1889 (Rex Features)

Others depict events of historic significance, such as the construction of the Manchester Canal.

The photographs were collected by architectural historian Philip Davies over the course of seven years, from the archives of Historic England.

Women working at Cellular Clothing Company Ltd, Swindon, 1902 (Rex Features)

Many were taken by pioneers of photography and the effects of the primitive technology are visible in some pictures – for instance, anyone moving within the frame is depicted as a blur, so sensitive was the exposure of early cameras.

Country lane, Dinton, Buckinghamshire, 1904. Child on the left in a rather basic perambulator, which was thought to be good for children's health (Rex Features)

Mr Davies was charmed by many of the photographs but shocked by the reality of the lives they captured: In 1840s Liverpool, the life expectancy for a boy was just 15 years old.

Mechanised farming in Hellidon, 1902 (Rex Features)

That such squalor existed in what many refer to as the UK's 'Golden Age' challenges this nostaligic sentiment.

“Many lives were spent in appalling conditions in the shadow of epidemics of killer diseases like typhus, cholera, TB and diphtheria,” Mr Davies told the Guardian.

J Plater's Cart, Van & Carriage Works, Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, 1903. Young apprentices, barely 12 years old, can be seen (Rex Features)

“I was also struck at how contemporary so many of the issues were: immigration, housing, poverty, urban sprawl, employment conditions.

"You can see these things behind the superficial attraction of many of the images.”

10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Show all 10 1 /10 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures St Luke's Church in Wolverhampton Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Overstone Hall in the East Midlands Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Madeira Terrace in Brighton Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Hunslet and Victoria Mills in Leeds Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Sheerness Boat store in Kent Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Birnbeck Pier in Weston Super Mare Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Central Plaza Hotel in Carlisle Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Tolly Cobbold Brewery in Ipswich Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Kinmel Hall in Conwy, Wales Victorian Society/PA 10 most endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Endangered Victorian and Edwardian structures Ladywell Baths in Lewisham, London Victorian Society/PA

Many photos also show buildings which, despite their grandiosity, have since been demolished, many in the post war period when vigorous urban planning and renewal projects took place.