Panorama of the Thames Home

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister and former Mayor of London:
"The Panorama of the Thames is a wonderful project celebrating the fluvial lifeblood of London in epic style. The river flows through our city's history as a seafaring nation and as a global economic power, our glorious riparian heritage inspiring artists and writers throughout the ages."

Sir Donald Insall. CBE, Conservation Architect:
“To a substantial degree, the River Thames is London. This inspiring Project demands rare skills and application, and is producing results of importance and delight, whose significance history will increasingly endorse. Every City is an evocative token of life and change. And every visual record is of interest; but this one will be for the future, an outstanding echo of its place and time."

Zac Goldsmith MP, former Member of Parliament for Richmond Park:
“The Panorama of the Thames Project is a unique, historical resource which will be valuable for generations to come. I’m pleased to support this inspiring project and wish it the best of luck.”

Bamber Gascoigne, broadcaster and author:
“The Panorama of the Thames is a bold and very important project. It will provide a record of London’s wonderful river that will be as valuable to the future as the engraved versions of the past are to us – and John Inglis has proved, from work already done, that it will be of an exceptionally high standard and great beauty.”

Dominic Raab, MP for East Molesey:
“The Thames is part of our history and heritage. It’s no understatement to say that it has been the economic, social and cultural lifeblood of the region with enormous impact on the day to day lives of the diverse communities along its shores. So establishing a photographic history is a brilliant way both to cherish our past but also understand the challenges for the future.”

Sir Vince Cable, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills:
"I am pleased to be able to endorse the Panorama of the Thames project. I have every confidence that John Inglis and his team will bring the project to a successful conclusion having seen it evolve from its inception."

Museum of London:
“As Curator of Photographs here at the Museum of London, caring for historical and contemporary riverside imagery, I am under no illusion as to the enormity of this wonderfully ambitious project. However, I have every confidence that your evident passion for the river and technical expertise in approaching it, will ensure that an invaluable photographic record, both historically and aesthetically will be created. Add to that the meticulous work breathing new life into the Leigh print together with the collation of detailed researched text, and this heritage rich project looks to be incredibly inspiring, for many to engage with now and in the future.”
Anna Sparham, Curator of Photographs.

Adrian Evans LVO, Thames Festival Director and Pageant Master:
“It's fanstastic, an extraordinary project. I can see that you have a great eye for detail and are unwilling to compromise your vision by rushing the project.”

Richard Tracey AM, former Mayor's Ambassador for the River Thames:
"So many people say to me that they want to see the River Thames living and thriving as a crucial part of London's heritage. This spectacular and insightful interactive project by John Inglis, creating a modern panoramic record of both its banks from the upper reaches to Tower Bridge, with the drawings of the past by Samuel Leigh in 1829 alongside the photographs, gives us an amazing picture of the change over nearly 200 years. It is a most important record which will be invaluable for historians, the riparian boroughs, planners, new builders, and, most important, the people of London and the young in appreciating our wonderful River Thames."

Lord Rogers of Riverside, International architect and urbanist:
“I admire the aims and ambitions of this project and wish it the best of luck. The River Thames is the largest and most beautiful public space in London and we should take great care and attention as to what is built along its banks.”

Simon Thurley, former Chief Executive, English Heritage:
"This looks like a very exciting, innovative, ambitious and very worthy project which will not only demonstrate the importance of the Thames to the development of industry and landscape in history, but show how much landscape continues to change."

Ed Vaizey, former Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries:
“I fully endorse the wonderful Panorama of the Thames Project which will show the stretch of river from Hampton to Tower Bridge in all its glory, as well as digitally restoring Samuel Leigh’s original hand water-coloured panorama. There is a wealth of opportunity to support the Arts through digital innovation and I welcome this initiative. I wish John Inglis all the best for the project.”

Dr Tanya Mathias, former Member of Parliament for Twickenham - "The panorama project is vital for our heritage. The restoration of the first record of the Thames riverbanks in 1829 is a gift to the nation. The specialised photographic and highly skilled recording of the exact same riverbanks today is a gift for generations to come."

Steven Knight AM, former Greater London Assembly Member and Leader of the Opposition for Richmond upon Thames:
"This attempt to capture for posterity the contemporary landscapes of the Thames, in a continuous high definition panorama, will create a unique historical record of the river and life along its banks for generations to come. It is a massive and hugely important endeavour and I wish John Inglis and his team every success in completing their task."

Kim Wilkie, Landscape Architect; author of the Thames Landscape Strategy:
“When I was working on the Thames Landscape Strategy back in the 1990s I used the Leigh panorama extensively as a black and white photocopy roll. The digital enhancement of the colour version and the ability directly to compare then with now is a wonderful advance.
“The Thames through London has already changed substantially since I undertook my work and it will be extraordinarily useful to have an accurate photographic record to compare the alterations as they happen. It would be good to repeat the exercise at least every decade.
May I wish you every success in your venture and I endorse the project wholeheartedly.”

John Cloake, author and President of Richmond Local History Society:
“I think this is a very exciting and worthwhile project, and I am most pleased and honoured to be asked to share to a small extent in its implementation.”

Cllr David Linnette, former Chair of the Thames Strategy Kew to Chelsea:
"As the new chairman of the Thames Strategy, Kew to Chelsea, I was delighted to discover we will have access to this invaluable resource. This is an opportunity to see the Thames at its best, both past and present, in exquisite detail. Great work, lovingly crafted.

Jane Ellison, former MP for Battersea:
“Learning about the Thames has been one of the many interesting aspects of becoming MP for Battersea. This Thames Panorama Project will, I am sure, help us to appreciate this wonderful river of ours even more.”

Peter Makower, Mayor's Coxswain LB Hounslow (Retired):
"For me, as a recently-and-reluctantly-retired boater on the tidal Thames, the ‘Panorama of the Thames’ is just a huge joy to watch now that I no longer have my own boat. It is of course also all the good things so well described by others. The buildings beside the River are interesting too when you can take your eyes off the River."

George Rome Innes MA Hist Art:
"The Thames Panorama Project is inspired by Samuel Leigh’s panorama of 1829. Not only is this a beautiful piece of work, it has proved to be an invaluable historical record of the bank side buildings along the Thames.
This new project by John Inglis and his team follows in the steps of Leigh. Both artistically and technically it is of the highest quality, and will be an essential record for posterity, and should inspire others to continue the work into the future. "

LOCAL ORGANISATIONS

River Thames Society:
"This important project capturing past and present aspects of the Thames, and providing a valuable resource, deserves to be supported by all those with any interest in our great river.”
Peter Finch, Chairman

Chiswick Pier Trust
"The Chiswick Pier Trust are pleased to endorse this important and historic project which celebrates the Thames and inspires us to protect it. John Inglis’s unique linear photographic technique shows with startling clarity the changing landscape along today’s river when presented along with the beautifully restored watercolours in Leigh’s Panorama. We applaud a website which will bring to the world's attention this wonderful river’s past, present and future."
Sarah Hodgson, Chair

Strand on the Green Association:
“This fascinating project is being undertaken with great skill, dedication and an outstanding level of professional finish. Capturing the history and present day images of the banks of the Thames as it winds through our capital city makes an invaluable contribution to recording the changing patterns of our daily lives.”
Robert Colvill, Chairman

The Isleworth Society:
"The River Thames inspires Londoners with a special sense of identity, meandering as it does through distinctive town and village landscapes. The Isleworth Society, centred on a riverside village, is delighted to be associated with and to support the Panorama of the Thames project – a unique vision to record, compare and contrast the legacy of built and natural environment left by centuries of settlement. It really is the most exciting project to come up for a very long time.”

The Environment Trust for Richmond:
"The Environment Trust was very proud to play a part in the original To the River photographic project at the Millennium, with the encouragement of our Trustee Michael Jones, and already it stands as a valuable record of parts of the Thames riverscape over ten years ago, against which changes can be measured.
"The Trust is now delighted to endorse the Panorama of the Thames project, which provides the additional dimension of comparison with Samuel Leigh’s wonderful paintings of the panorama in 1829, and extends the original project from Richmond to Westminster. At a time of multiple stresses on the environment, this project will celebrate the extraordinary Thames riverscape and help those who endeavor to conserve it. We wish the project every success." John Anderson, Chair

The York House Society:
"The York House Society is delighted to endorse this project on two counts. The first is that it will produce a record of the Thames as it is in our time, during a period of rapid change and redevelopment, when many new buildings are appearing on the banks, low-rise is replaced by high-rise, and some old vistas are vanishing, possibly forever. In addition, the planned restoration of the Leigh Panorama that will make it accessible online is a valuable piece of work that will benefit historians, lovers of the river, and people with a general interest in its landscape and its ecology. We wish you well with this huge endeavour."
Yvonne Hewett, Chair

The Richmond Society:
"If the project is as good as the one you completed on our stretch of the river then everyone should be very satisfied."
Prof Ian Bruce, Chair

Kingston upon Thames Society:
“Enough has already been completed of a photographic survey of the Thames between Hampton Court and Tower Bridge to convince those of us who have seen it that this is an extraordinary project of real interest to anyone living near the River in the future. We urge everybody to take any opportunity available to view what has already been done and to support the project’s completion in any way open to them.”
Jennifer Butterworth, Chair

Wandsworth Society:
“The Wandsworth Society would be delighted to see this impressive project successfully completed. It will enhance the Wandsworth community's appreciation and understanding of its local heritage, the changes that have occurred since the Leigh Panorama was created, and any plans for future development along the Wandsworth stretch of the River Thames. With its stunning photography and 'drop down' information, the Panorama project will serve as an easily accessible - and enjoyable - educational tool, for people of all ages in Wandsworth and further afield, for years to come.”
Philip Whyte, Chairman of the Wandsworth Society

Hammersmith Mall Residents’ Association:
“We feel this is an extremely valuable and worthwhile project, which recognises the importance of recording and preserving the rich heritage of the River Thames in London, and we give it our full support. Your proposals to create a contemporary photographic panorama, compared to and contrasted with the 1829 Samuel Leigh painting, will be visually exciting and engage the viewer now, as well as providing a rich archive of the history and development of life along the River Thames to be enjoyed by future generations. We fully endorse this project and wish you every success.”
Jane Bain, HAMRA Board of Representatives

Hampton & Molesey Riverside Trust:
"This very imaginative project will, in the capable hands of John Inglis, create an important historical record of the Thames Riversides. His high quality Panoramas of The Thames will be of immense interest to everyone who loves London's river and its remarkable environment, and will provide an invaluable legacy for generations to come."
Peter Parker CBE, Chairman

The Friends of Kingston Museum and Heritage Service, the Heritage Tour Guides and the Kingston Society:
"Viewing your photo-panorama of the Thames at Richmond makes us long to see our own river frontage at Kingston covered in the same way. Coupled with an informative commentary, it will be an enthralling way of telling the story of a stretch of the river that gave birth to our Royal Borough, and has seen so much history. It will also be a great encouragement to groups like ours that seek to preserve Kingston’s riverside heritage, while at the same time making the most of its natural features and increasing its recreational use. The prospect of such a Panorama of the Thames that stretches all the way from Hampton to Tower Bridge is truly mouth-watering, and we wish the project every success."
The Group of Four dedicated to the Enhancement of Kingston