No Big Ben but St Paul's Cathedral ever present! Sketches of the north bank of the River Thames made for abandoned quay plans show how London landmarks have changed since 1825

Old sketches of the north bank of the River Thames have been discovered to reveal the dramatic change to the London landscape over the past 200 years.

The architectural drawings were created in 1825 for an ambitious new quay that would have run between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge.

The quay, conceived by architect General Sir Frederick Trench, would have contained merchant warehouses beneath a terrace.

His plans, executed by artist Thomas Mann Baynes, contained notable London landmarks in close proximity to the north bank of the Thames for context.

These included the Palace of Westminster, Mansion House, Somerset House, the Savoy Hotel, Covent Garden Theatre, St Paul's Cathedral and Fishmongers Hall.

Old sketches of the north bank of the River Thames have been discovered to reveal the dramatic change to the London landscape over the past 200 years. Above: St Paul's Cathedral and the surrounding area, with the Thames in the foreground

A more recent image shows how, whilst St Paul's Cathedral is the same, the surrounding area has changed dramatically

A bird's eye view of the plans, which were later abandoned

Several well-known bridges were also included, such Westminster Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge and London Bridge.

The drawings highlight the volume of boat traffic on the Thames in the early 19th century, with water taxis and sailing barges vying for space.

The bridges are adorned with horses and carriages and pedestrians smartly dressed in elegant embroidered dresses and jackets and top hats in keeping with the Regency era.

While the north bank is filled with Georgian architecture built in the wake of the Great Fire of London, it is vastly underdeveloped compared to the capital of today.

The sketches were produced before the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben were built and 155 years before the capital's first skyscraper appeared on the skyline of the City of London.

Today, black cabs and red buses have replaced horses and carriages on the bridges, while pedestrians are seen holding smartphones rather than walking canes.

This sketch shows Waterloo Bridge on the right. The structure has changed dramatically since then

Waterloo Bridge now. The scene is barely recognisable when compared with the same spot in 1825

The sketch at Southwark Bridge shows boats on the Thames and pedestrians, horses and carriages

Southwark Bridge today. Horses are now few and far between and cars are the dominant sight

Westminster Bridge with Parliament behind it. Big Ben had not yet been built, making the scene look very different to how it does now from the same angle

Westminster Bridge today with the Houses of Parliament in the background

A depiction of Somerset House. The structure looks the same today, despite the fact that its surroundings have changed almost beyond recognition

Somerset house is seen above from Waterloo Bridge. The historic building was constructed in the late 18th century

Blackfriars Bridge is seen in another of the sketches, with smoke seen rising from industry 

The view today from Blackfriars bridge shows how much this part of London has changed

A sketch of London Bridge under construction. This iteration of the bridge was built in 1830 but was replaced in 1968

Trench's plans for the New Quay were ultimately rejected by Parliament because they were deemed counterintuitive for riverine business.

But the plans did prove to be the forerunner for the present day Victoria Embankment that was built in the 1860s.

A book of lithograph prints of the drawings for the doomed project recently emerged from a private collection and were sold at Chiswick Auctioneers of west London.

The large album of 10 plates and a folding map, which measures 14ins by 30ins, sold for £175.

Austin Farahar, head of photographic department at Chiswick Auctions, said: 'It is a really fascinating record of what the north bank of the Thames looked like at the time and shows how underdeveloped it was.

'It was commissioned by a London architect who was trying to develop the area and the album was beautifully created and very immersive to try and curry favour with people.

'The development never came to fruition and these albums are very rare today. I have never come across one before.

'It has come from a vendor who has been a passionate collector of this kind of subject matter for the past 40 years.'