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Visit of Sir George Cotton at Accrington (1902)

Visit of Sir George Cotton at Accrington (1902)

A small crowd greets a local Conservative parliamentary candidate at Accrington station.

It's rare to see a Mitchell & Kenyon film where the majority of people's backs are to the camera, which is usually the main attraction. Sir George Cotton made his name, appropriately enough, as a textile mill owner in India. Back in England he was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Accrington, helping explain the well-to-do crowd greeting him here. He died in 1905, before an election.

A small crowd greets a local Conservative parliamentary candidate at Accrington station.

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From the collection

The Great and the Good

Royals, military heroes and sportsmen compete in the Edwardian fame game.

Mitchell and Kenyon's films suggest a company that was most at ease filming ordinary people at work and play. But the Edwardian era, just as today, had its public figures who could draw an audience - and audiences were M&K's business. 

Edwardian celebrity culture was narrower than today's: headed by the King and other royals, followed by military heroes of the Boer War, politicians and a host of mayors and other local dignitaries. But an increasingly professionalised world of sport was already making its own stars: early signs of the new celebrity order of the later 20th century.

37 videos in this collection

The crowds stand silent as the nation says goodbye to Queen Victoria in February 1901.
1

Funeral of Queen Victoria (1901)

  • Hyde Park
  • 1901
A political giant at his magnificent Highbury estate in Birmingham.
2

Joseph Chamberlain at Home (1902)

  • Birmingham
  • 1902
Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the British army, returns from South Africa to cheering crowds.
3

Return of Kitchener (1902)

  • 1902
Crowds clamour for a view of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (on tour) in the Isle of Man.
4

The King's Ride in the Isle of Man (1902)

  • Isle of Man
  • 1902
A bagpipe band marches in honour of Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, on her visit to Liverpool.
5

Princess Louise at Liverpool (1906)

  • Liverpool
  • 1906
Did he bowl or did he throw? A fascinating record of an early cricketing controversy.
6

Arthur Mold Bowling to A.N.Hornby (1901)

  • Old Trafford Cricket Ground
  • 1901-07-12
The future King of Siam takes a trip across the Mersey.
7

Prince of Siam in Liverpool (1901)

  • Liverpool
  • 1901
Irish dignitaries turn up as Cork hosts the World's Fair.
8

Lord Mayor of Cork Arriving For Official Opening of Cork Exhibition (1902)

  • 1902
Men and boys (and a few girls) mark Edward VII's coronation on the picturesque cobbled streets of central Wigan.
9

Wigan Coronation Celebrations and Street Scenes (1902)

  • Wigan
  • 1902
The sun shines on the mayor's procession in Wigan to mark the coronation of Edward VII.
10

Wigan Mayoral Coronation Procession (1902)

  • Wigan
  • 1902
The Lancashire cotton town brings out the bunting for George V's big day. 
11

Chorley Coronation Processions (1911)

  • Chorley
  • 1911
Crowds gather outside theTown Hall to hear the town crier's royal announcement.
12

Royal Proclamation of Death of Queen Victoria, Blackburn (1901)

  • Blackburn
  • 1901
Edwardian Manchester bobbies are put through their paces.
13

Police Annual Inspection at Birchfields Park (1901)

  • Manchester
  • 1901
The Lancashire town greets Edward VII's big day with a cheery spectacle.
14

Coronation Festivities at Accrington (1902)

  • Accrington
  • 1902
A majestic Blackpool monument to Queen Victoria is unveiled by Princess Louise.
15

Visit of H.R.H. Princess Louise to Blackburn (1905)

  • Blackburn
  • 1905-09-30
Remarkable scenes of St George's Day celebrations in early 20th century Merseyside.
16

St George's Day Procession in Liverpool (1901)

  • Liverpool
  • 1901
Lancashire bands and Beefeaters celebrate the crowning of King George V.
17

Clitheroe Coronation Procession (1911)

  • Clitheroe
  • 1902
King Edward VII pays tribute to Manchester scholars during a visit to the city.
18

Royal Visit to Manchester, Owens College (1902)

  • Manchester
  • 1902
Crowds celebrate the crowning of George V and his consort Mary on a windy June day in the Lancashire mill town.
19

Great Harwood Coronation Celebrations (1911)

  • Great Harwood
  • 1911
Mitchell & Kenyon capture the 'lighter' side of Lancastrian officialdom.
20

His Worship the Mayor Leaving Lancaster Town Hall (1902)

  • Lancaster
  • 1902
Horse-drawn carriagesdeliver dignitaries to the Cork Exhibition.
21

Arrival of VIP For Official Opening of Cork Exhibition (1902)

  • 1902
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces recognises war heroes old and new in front of crowds on a wet day in Edwardian Liverpool.
22

Lord Roberts Presenting Medals to Boer War Volunteers in Liverpool (1901)

  • Liverpool
  • 1901
Representatives of two royal families visit one of early 20th century Ireland's most ambitious exhibitions.
23

Visit of the Duke of Connaught C.I.C. Forces in Ireland and Prince Henry of Prussia to Cork Exhibition (1902)

  • 1902
A well-respected community figure is laid to rest in Edwardian South Yorkshire.
24

Funeral of the Late Captain of the Mexborough Fire Brigade (1902)

  • Doncaster
  • 1902
Edward VII's rescheduled coronation was held on 8th August, not a nice day in Leeds...
25

Leeds Mayoral Procession For the Coronation Celebrations (1902)

  • Leeds
  • 1902
Businesses, unions, religious representatives and civic dignitaries march through Cork.
26

Trade Procession at Opening of Cork Exhibition (1902)

  • 1902
Mourners process through the wintry streets of Edinburgh.
27

Funeral Procession in Edinburgh (1901)

  • Edinburgh
  • 1901
Members of this Friendly Society stream past the camera.
28

Oddfellows Procession in St Helens (c.1901)

  • St Helens
  • 1901
Crowds line up for a fleeting glimpse of the Prince of Wales, later George V.
29

Royal Visit to Bangor (1902)

  • Bangor
  • 1902
Mounted police lead smartly uniformed firefighters past William Widdup's furniture store in Edwardian Nelson.
30

Procession of Firemen, Nelson (c.1902)

  • 1902
Thousands march up Old Elvet in Durham to mark the Coronation of Edward VII.
31

Hollow Drift Children's Procession, Durham (1902)

  • Old Elvet, Durham
  • 1902
Female graduates and gents sporting spectacular Edwardian whiskers take part in Birmingham's first Degree Day ceremony.
32

Birmingham University Procession on Degree Day (1901)

  • Birmingham
  • 1901
A lively crowd greets Blackpool's Conservative MP - possibly on election day.
33

Wainwright Conservative Club, Blackpool (c.1906)

  • Blackpool
  • 1906
The Prince and Princess of Wales open Rhyl's Royal Alexandra Hospital.
34

Royal Visit to Rhyl (1902)

  • Rhyl
  • 1902
A small crowd greets a local Conservative parliamentary candidate at Accrington station.
35

Visit of Sir George Cotton at Accrington (1902)

  • Accrington
  • 1902
Unusual and sombre footage of much-loved Lancashire priest's funeral.
36

Funeral of Canon Morrissey in Burnley (1903)

  • Burnley
  • 1903
Crowds line the streets of Edwardian Manchester to send off an unidentified military hero.
37

Funeral in Manchester (1904)

  • Manchester
  • 1904
View full collection

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