Scenes Outside St Elphin's Church, Warrington (c.1901)
An eager crowd competes for camera time outside a Lancashire church.
It's the very lively churchgoers - clearly encouraged to play up for the camera - who capture the attention in this this two-shot film from Edwardian pioneers Mitchell and Kenyon, made on one of the pairs several visits to Warrington in the early 1900s. Alas, the close position leaves out St Elphin's very striking steeple, but the energy of its worshippers more than compensates. The second shot moves to a different location, and a younger, slightly less wealthy (fewer boaters, more cloth caps) but no less eager crowd. As so often, it's the younger boys who steal the show, especially one scamp towards the end who seems determined to jump through the camera lens.
The film was originally identified from an inscription on the roll as 'Scene outside a church in Warley'. The final word was all-but illegible bar the opening letter, so it seems Warley was something of a stab in the dark. We now know that the location is actually some 80 miles to the north, thanks to the detective work of Sonya Endicott, who was able to identify the church from its distinctive gates.
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Sunday Best
Church is the place to pray, meet and be seen for these faithful Edwardians.
On a weekday, Mitchell & Kenyon's cameramen might expect to filming workers leaving factories or schoolchildren parading. On occasional Sundays, they found a more sombre subject: the faithful leaving places of worship, or marching in parades or processions.
Mitchell & Kenyon's 'church gate' films mirror their 'factory gate' films, filling the frame with faces, though typically shot from a more respectful distance. Collectively, they reveal how integral Christianity was to Edwardian public life. Not surprisingly, Anglican churches are pre-eminent, but we see non-conformist denominations too, while Catholicism has a particularly strong presence, reflecting its strength in M&K's Lancashire backyard and in southern Ireland.
42 videos in this collection
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2
Manchester and Salford's Harriers Procession (1901)
3
Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902)
4
Blue Coat Children Marching to Curzon Hall, Birmingham (1901)
5
Manchester Catholics Whitsuntide Procession (1904)
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Carnival Processions in Birkenhead (1902)
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Congregation Leaving New Jerusalem Church in Accrington (1902)
8
Congregation Leaving St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin (1901)
9
Morecambe Church Lads Parade at Drill (1901)
10
Southport Carnival and Trades Procession (1902)
11
Manchester Italian Catholic Procession (1902)
12
Congregations Leaving the Centenary Chapel, Middlesbrough (1902)
13
Manchester Spiritualists Procession (1901)
14
Procession in Accrington Park (1900)
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Manchester Catholic Orphanage Boys (1901)
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Congregation at Preston Parish Church (c.1901)
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Warrington Walking Day Procession (1902)
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Treat to 5000 Poor Burnley Children (1905)
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Old Poulton Parish Church, Morecambe (c.1901)
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Congregation Leaving Warrington Parish Church (1902)
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Accrington Catholic Procession (1912)
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Scenes Outside St Elphin's Church, Warrington (c.1901)
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St. Joseph's Catholic Whit Procession, Blackburn (1911)
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Church Parade of the Boys' Brigade in Birmingham (1902)
25
Hunslet Carnival and Gala (1904)
26
Manchester Sunday Schools Whit Monday Procession (1904)
27
Congregation Leaving St James' Church, Hessle Road, Hull (1902)
28
Congregation Leaving Wesleyan Chapel in Mansfield (c.1901)
29
Halifax Catholic Procession (c.1905)
30
Oldham Catholic Schools Procession (1904)
31
Congregation at Hanley Old Church (c.1901)
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Congregation Leaving Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier, Dublin (1902)
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Congregation Leaving St Patrick's Church in Cork (1902)
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Congregation Leaving Parish Church, Sheffield (1902)
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Crowds Leaving Park Congregational Church in Accrington (1902)
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Congregations Leaving St. Hilda's Church, Middlesbrough (1902)
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Congregation Leaving All Saints Church, Blackburn (c.1903)
38
Boys' Brigade Review at Racecourse (c.1902)
39
Liverpool Church Parade and Inspection (1901)
40
March Past of 20,000 Coventry Children (1902)
41
Royal Halifax Infirmary Annual Street Procession (1908)
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