Manchester Italian Catholic Procession (1902)
Residents of Manchester's own 'Little Italy' put on a display of religious pomp during the city's annual Whit Walk.
Though a settlement existed in Roman times, Manchester's Italian community grew in earnest from the early 19th century. Craftsmen, artisans and unskilled workers escaping dire poverty at home flocked to what became known as 'Little Italy': the streets around Ancoats' many Catholic churches. This film records the community at its Edwardian peak, taking part in the annual Whit Walk procession.
Despite a once thriving ice cream industry and the best efforts of Manchester's Catholic Church-led Italian Society, Little Italy would not survive the travails of the 20th century. Two world wars and the slum clearances of the 1960s saw the city centre lose many of its distinctive close-knit communities, in this case one bound together by the combined power of family and organised religion.
Tags
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
1
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)
6
Carnival Processions in Birkenhead (1902)
7
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)
15
Manchester Catholic Orphanage Boys (1901)
16
Congregation at Preston Parish Church (c.1901)
17
Warrington Walking Day Procession (1902)
18
Treat to 5000 Poor Burnley Children (1905)
19
Old Poulton Parish Church, Morecambe (c.1901)
20
Congregation Leaving Warrington Parish Church (1902)
21
Accrington Catholic Procession (1912)
22
Scenes Outside St Elphin's Church, Warrington (c.1901)
23
St. Joseph's Catholic Whit Procession, Blackburn (1911)
24
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)
32
Congregation Leaving Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier, Dublin (1902)
33
Congregation Leaving St Patrick's Church in Cork (1902)
34
Congregation Leaving Parish Church, Sheffield (1902)
35
Crowds Leaving Park Congregational Church in Accrington (1902)
36
Congregations Leaving St. Hilda's Church, Middlesbrough (1902)
37
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)
42