Hull Fair (1902)

Kingston upon Hull
1902
Silent
3m

The ornate pavilions of cinematographs, boxing booths and menageries at Hull Fair.

Hull's was Britain's largest fair, held annually since the Middle Ages. This film gives a real feel for the atmosphere of its spectacular shows - Bailey's American Circus, Bostock and Wombwell's Menagerie and Randall Williams' Cinematograph. Two black men are among the fighters luring the punters to Hughes' boxing booth. Alfred Hitchcock's 1926 boxing film The Ring has a strikingly similar scene.

The black faces - not the only ones to be found in the Mitchell and Kenyon collection of films - remind us that Caribbean immigration into Britain didn't suddenly start with the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948.

Black Britain on Film

Striking, illuminating and sometimes surprising images of black culture, community and characters, spanning over a century of British film and TV.

From some of the earliest appearances at the dawn of the 20th century to groundbreaking postwar documentaries and contemporary features, this collection charts changing attitudes and hidden histories. Here are the trailblazers, the icons, the stereotypes, the controversies. These richly varied films uncover sometimes surprising histories of black culture and community. They tackle troubling issues of race, representation and identity. And they highlight some of the best of black British filmmaking, from the work of pioneers Horace Ové and Menelik Shabazz to later innovators John Akomfrah and Ngozi Onwurah