Carnival Processions in Birkenhead (1902)
May Queens and drag queens, cadets and clowns: thousands turn out for an Edwardian fundraiser in the Merseyside town.
These extraordinary pictures give a real sense of the magnificent scale and splendour of an Edwardian street carnival. In this procession, snaking around Birkenhead's Hamilton Square from the Town Hall to Price Street, thousands of revellers exhibit their grandest, most ingenious, or most outrageous outfits to raise cash for the town's local hospitals.
The film was shown at the nearby Argyle Theatre of Varieties, at the time one of the UK's premier music halls. Having hosted some of Britain's foremost entertainers - among them Marie Lloyd, Dan Leno, Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and George Formby - the Argyle was destroyed by a Luftwaffe bomb in 1940 and finally demolished in 1973.
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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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Manchester and Salford's Harriers Procession (1901)
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Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902)
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Blue Coat Children Marching to Curzon Hall, Birmingham (1901)
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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)
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Congregation Leaving St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Dublin (1901)
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Morecambe Church Lads Parade at Drill (1901)
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Southport Carnival and Trades Procession (1902)
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Manchester Italian Catholic Procession (1902)
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Congregations Leaving the Centenary Chapel, Middlesbrough (1902)
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Manchester Spiritualists Procession (1901)
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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)
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Hunslet Carnival and Gala (1904)
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Manchester Sunday Schools Whit Monday Procession (1904)
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Congregation Leaving St James' Church, Hessle Road, Hull (1902)
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Congregation Leaving Wesleyan Chapel in Mansfield (c.1901)
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Halifax Catholic Procession (c.1905)
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Oldham Catholic Schools Procession (1904)
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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)
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Boys' Brigade Review at Racecourse (c.1902)
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Liverpool Church Parade and Inspection (1901)
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March Past of 20,000 Coventry Children (1902)
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Royal Halifax Infirmary Annual Street Procession (1908)
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