This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Landscape, Nature and Architecture

Technological improvements enabled Prince Albert to collect photographs of places that were significant to him

GEORGE WASHINGTON WILSON (1823-93)

Stonehenge. General view from the East

c. 1880 after an 1860 original

Carbon print | 7.4 x 7.3 cm (image) | RCIN 2320054

Photograph of Stonehenge with sheep in the foreground. In the centre a man stands leans against one of the stones. A cart stands on the right.

This photograph is a later carbon copy which is a process that is less susceptible to light damage, unlike the original albumen that was prone to fading over time.
  • Creator(s)

    George Washington Wilson (1823-93) (photographer)

  • 7.4 x 7.3 cm (image)

    17.2 x 13.0 cm (mount)

  • From an album of photographs collected and arranged by Albert, Prince Consort between 1860 and 1861

  • Subject(s)
    • Places
      • Europe
        • Great Britain
          • England
            • Wiltshire [England]
              • Salisbury Plain [Wiltshire]
                • Stonehenge [Salisbury Plain]
    • Archaeology
      • Prehistory
        • Prehistoric stone monuments
    • History
      • History of Europe
        • History of England & Great Britain
          • England & Great Britain-History (Prehistory, Roman & Anglo-Saxon period)
        • General medieval and modern history (European history)
    • Science, Medicine and Technology
      • Agriculture and related techniques
        • Animal husbandry
          • Sheep
      • Engineering & Technology
        • Vehicles
          • Simple transport
            • Carts
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs