The People of Gibraltar
1879 – The Royal Collection -  A Search for Images

The web-site of the Royal Collection Trust describes itself as follows:
. . . one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, and one of the last great European royal collections to remain intact. Comprising almost all aspects of the fine and decorative arts and running to more than a million objects, the Collection is a unique and valuable record of the personal tastes of kings and queens over the past 500 years.
A search for images of “Gibraltar” among its archive produces 233 items. Unfortunately only a few of these have actually been digitised although 28 historically important 19th century photographs of the Rock have and are well worth viewing by anybody with the least interest in what the Rock looked like in the past. Other than three attributed to Charles Clifford (see LINK) the rest are by “unknown” photographers and of the 28, only four appear in a similar album of 19th century photographs collected by Captain S. Buckle. (See LINKMost of the older ones come from an album dated 1870 bought by the Prince of Wales – the future King Edward VII. (See LINK)

The Collection dates most of the photographs as c1879 - as well as several with very specific dates for the year – “6th October to 15th November 1879”. These were apparently included in an album presented to Prince Albert Victor and his brother Prince George by their tutor, the Rev. John Neale Dalton after visiting Gibraltar on the 6th of November aboard HMS Bacchante. They left for Madeira on the 15th of the same month. The 6th October/6th November discrepancy I cannot explain 

The captions of the photos below are those given by the Royal Collection Trust.


Gibraltar (c1860)


A Review on the Race Course (c1855) (See LINK)


Aloe Walk (c1860) 


North Front Guard (c1860)


Some Gibraltar Batteries (c1860) 1


Gibraltar Rock (1859c -Charles Clifford)


View from the Castle (1859c -Charles Clifford) 2


Gibraltar Rock from Bay beyond Spanish Lines (1879) (See LINK


South Port Gate (1879) (See LINK)


View from Buena Vista (1879)


Governor’s Cottage (1879) (October – November 1879)


Moorish Castle (1879) (October – November 1879)


Windmill Hill (1879) (October – November 1879)


New Mole (October – November 1879)


Queen of Spain’s Chair (1879) 3


Signal Station (1879)


Panorama of the Rock (1879)


Saluting Battery (October – November 1879)


Mediterranean Steps (1879)


O’Hara’s Tower (October – November 1879) (See LINK)


View from the Mount of the Mole and Algeciras Bay (October – November 1879)


Meet of the Calpe Hunt (October – November 1879)(See LINK)


Alameda (October – November 1879)


Europa Advance (1879)


Europa Point, Apes Hill (Africa) in the Distance (1879)


The Mount, Capt. Edye, R.N. (October – November 1879) 4


Alameda, Gibraltar, (Africa in the distance) (October – November 1879)


View of Galleries from the Ruins of Fort Philip (1879)


View of Algeciras (c1859 – Charles Clifford)



1. Specifically the Europa Advance Battery 
2. Probably not taken from the Moorish Castle itself but from one of its batteries
3. "The Queen of Spain's Chair was a medieval signal tower on top of Sierra Carbonera, the mountain to the left in the photograph
4. Mount Pleasant – or the Mount for short – was the residence of Captain W.H. Edye, Superintendent and Senior Naval Officer at Gibraltar during the late 19th century