Exit of Clerical and Factory Workers (c.1901)

Exit of Clerical and Factory Workers (c.1901)


It's home time for men and women at an imposing but unidentified workplace - or two?

These two shots make an odd contrasting pair. Found together on the same roll, with no accompanying information, each shows a very different workplace but a similarly grey, damp day.

In the first shot, white collar workers (managers, clerks, secretaries) leave a classical office building. What is presumably a name plate by the door is infuriatingly unreadable. The second shot shows us what is clearly a mill or factory and its own workers. Where are we? Are these two entrances to the same building? Two different buildings on the same site? Are the two scenes even related at all?


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Edwardian Enigmas

Who, what, where? Calling amateur detectives - can you help us solve these mysteries?

We've learned a lot about Mitchell and Kenyon since hundreds of their films were rediscovered in 1995. Research by the University of Sheffield and the BFI revealed a wealth of background detail about the films, the events they depict, how they were commissioned and shown. But a few films have so far stubbornly refused to give up their secrets.

So now's your chance to play amateur detective. Do you recognise this town, that street, those factory gates, that football team... even a face in the crowd? If you can, please let us know. And if you can't, you can still enjoy these heady slices of Edwardian (or Victorian) life.


16 videos in this collection

Intriguing fragments of Victorian and Edwardian footage left behind by Mitchell and Kenyon
1

Mitchell and Kenyon Miscellaneous Offcuts

Victorian industrial workers leave their factory after a demanding day.
2

Factory Exit in Lincoln (1900)

How did these Chinese gentlemen end up in a Blackburn basement?
3

Unidentified Chinese Men (c.1900)

Can you identify this street corner, or perhaps a young face in the parade?
4

Parade of Schoolchildren (c.1902)

An assortment of Edwardian workers, including many mischievous children who are far from camera-shy.
5

Textile Workers Leaving a Factory (c.1901)

Well-heeled Edwardian workers head home after work.
6

Workers Leaving a Factory in Wigan (1902)

7

Scene Outside a Factory (c.1902)

Could the newspaper boy tell us where this factory was?
8

Employees Leaving a Factory (c.1901)

A mysterious but vivid snapshot of Edwardian life.
9

Street Scenes in North of England (c.1902)

An unidentified workplace is the scene of a vivid slice of turn-of-the-century life.
10

Factory Gate Exit (c.1901)

It's home time for men and women at an imposing but unidentified workplace - or two?
11

Exit of Clerical and Factory Workers (c.1901)

Where was this Edwardian paper works?
12

Workers at Ross & Hardy Paper Works (1901)

A diverse workforce make their way from the factory, perhaps a Lancashire cotton mill?
13

Unidentified Factory Gate Exit in Lancashire (c.1900)

Victorian factory workers head for home, dodging puddles along the way.
14

Workforce Leaving a Factory in the North of England (c.1900)

Mystery workers hurry through cobbled streets
15

Unidentified Factory Gate (c.1900)

An unidentified factory is the setting for some lively Victorian characters.
16

Workers Leaving a Factory (1900)

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