Queen Victoria's long reign famously saw extraordinary advances: in industry, transport, science, culture... But one late but great innovation is too often missed from the list: the moving image. Yet film forever changed the way we see the world. And even before the French Lumière brothers presented their first demonstrations in London in 1895, British filmmakers were beginning to make their mark.

Here you'll find the most comprehensive gallery of Victorian films ever assembled. Hundreds of films made over the last six years of Victoria's reign, during which film was transformed from the pursuit of a handful of showmen, chemists and amateur enthusiasts into a dynamic industry, from fairground novelty into the greatest entertainment of the age.