Treat to 5000 Poor Burnley Children (1905)

Treat to 5000 Poor Burnley Children (1905)


Deprived Edwardian kids of Burnley enjoy some midsummer fun in the park.

The deafening sound of thousands of child-size clogs clattering on cobbled streets is missing from this poignant film, as are the children's excited chatter and the boom of brass bands. But the poverty is all-too visible in the children's grubby faces and ragged clothing and in the cases of rickets - bone deformations caused by a lack of Vitamin D from sunlight in industrial areas.


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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

Worshippers in their Sunday best file out of the Church.
1

Congregation Leaving St Mary's Church, Dumfries (c.1901)

A small boy impersonates military hero Lord Roberts, much to the delight of the crowds.
2

Manchester and Salford's Harriers Procession (1901)

A well-dressed church congregation gathers on the elegant portico.
3

Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902)

Church school pupils set off for a trip to the famous Birmingham entertainment hall.
4

Blue Coat Children Marching to Curzon Hall, Birmingham (1901)

A damp and murky day greets the annual Whitsuntide Catholic procession in Edwardian Manchester.
5

Manchester Catholics Whitsuntide Procession (1904)

May Queens and drag queens, cadets and clowns: thousands turn out for an Edwardian fundraiser in the Merseyside town.
6

Carnival Processions in Birkenhead (1902)

An Edwardian congregation emerges after Sunday service in Accrington, Lancashire.
7

Congregation Leaving New Jerusalem Church in Accrington (1902)

Dublin's Catholic faithful wend their way home after Sunday service.
8

Congregation Leaving St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin (1901)

Larking about during Church Lads' Brigade drill and parade in Morecambe.
9

Morecambe Church Lads Parade at Drill (1901)

Colourful carnival floats in the Lancashire seaside resort of Southport.
10

Southport Carnival and Trades Procession (1902)

Residents of Manchester's own 'Little Italy' put on a display of religious pomp during the city's annual Whit Walk.
11

Manchester Italian Catholic Procession (1902)

A small crowd bustles outside the now-demolished Centenary Methodist Wesleyan Chapel.
12

Congregations Leaving the Centenary Chapel, Middlesbrough (1902)

Exponents of Britain's newest religion don their Sunday best for a parade through Edwardian Manchester.
13

Manchester Spiritualists Procession (1901)

Accrington locals parade in their Sunday best.
14

Procession in Accrington Park (1900)

Young orphans march through the streets of Edwardian Manchester with heads held high.
15

Manchester Catholic Orphanage Boys (1901)

Preston's great and good gather outside the magnificent St. John's church.
16

Congregation at Preston Parish Church (c.1901)

Fine outfits on display in a Christian procession through Warrington's Bank Park.
17

Warrington Walking Day Procession (1902)

Deprived Edwardian kids of Burnley enjoy some midsummer fun in the park.
18

Treat to 5000 Poor Burnley Children (1905)

Worshippers stroll out of church after the Sunday service.
19

Old Poulton Parish Church, Morecambe (c.1901)

Edwardian Churchgoers crowd around the gates to St Elphin's after Sunday morning service.
20

Congregation Leaving Warrington Parish Church (1902)

Filmed record of a local parade crammed with detail and charm.
21

Accrington Catholic Procession (1912)

An eager crowd competes for camera time outside a Lancashire church.
22

Scenes Outside St Elphin's Church, Warrington (c.1901)

Blackburn Catholics assemble to mark Whitsun weekend.
23

St. Joseph's Catholic Whit Procession, Blackburn (1911)

Crowds line the streets for the annual parade of the Birmingham Boys' Brigade.
24

Church Parade of the Boys' Brigade in Birmingham (1902)

A spectacular street procession in the heart of industrial West Yorkshire.
25

Hunslet Carnival and Gala (1904)

Crowds throng the city streets to see a parade of beautifully turned out children in a festive parade.
26

Manchester Sunday Schools Whit Monday Procession (1904)

The faithful surge out of St James' Church onto a wind-swept street in Edwardian Hull.
27

Congregation Leaving St James' Church, Hessle Road, Hull (1902)

A view of Mansfield's Bridge Street, as worshippers emerge from chapel.
28

Congregation Leaving Wesleyan Chapel in Mansfield (c.1901)

A proud expression of Catholic identity, this Edwardian parade fills the streets of the Yorkshire town.
29

Halifax Catholic Procession (c.1905)

Catholic schoolchildren lead a Whit Friday procession in honour of Our Lady.
30

Oldham Catholic Schools Procession (1904)

Staffordshire parishioners stream home after a service.
31

Congregation at Hanley Old Church (c.1901)

Dublin churchgoers after mass in 1902.
32

Congregation Leaving Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier, Dublin (1902)

Well-to-do of Cork worshippers leaving St Patrick's Church.
33

Congregation Leaving St Patrick's Church in Cork (1902)

Well-to-do Edwardian churchgoers
34

Congregation Leaving Parish Church, Sheffield (1902)

Members of a non-conformist congregation leave their Lancashire church.
35

Crowds Leaving Park Congregational Church in Accrington (1902)

Edwardian worshippers at a since-demolished church in Middlesbrough's former centre.
36

Congregations Leaving St. Hilda's Church, Middlesbrough (1902)

Dressed to the nines, a Lancashire congregation leaves church in Nova Scotia, Blackburn.
37

Congregation Leaving All Saints Church, Blackburn (c.1903)

Nurses and soldiers parade for crowds and the camera, with the boys' brigade marching past.
38

Boys' Brigade Review at Racecourse (c.1902)

Crowds gather to watch hundreds of Edwardian policemen marching through a Liverpool street.
39

Liverpool Church Parade and Inspection (1901)

The Coronation of Edward VII is celebrated by thousands of Coventry Sunday school children.
40

March Past of 20,000 Coventry Children (1902)

Good people of Halifax defy summer rains to benefit the Infirmary, long before the NHS.
41

Royal Halifax Infirmary Annual Street Procession (1908)

Brollies and ceremonial regalia are out in force in Clitheroe for Mayor's Sunday.
42

Mayor's Sunday at St Mary's Church, Clitheroe (1912)

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