B/W print; Busy Haymarket with lots of motorised vehicles, circa 1912

This picture was taken at Haymarket in the early years of the 20th century. It shows many cars and pedestrians and several crowded buses. The photograph indicates how quickly motorised transport replaced horse-drawn vehicles in some parts of London. Many of the men in the picture are wearing straw boaters. It was common at that time for men to wear a hat: many people did not consider themselves correctly dressed without one.