Electric Tram Rides from Forster Square, Bradford (1902)

Bradford
1902-04-02
Silent
1m

An epic tour of the places and people of Edwardian Bradford.

This remarkable tour of Bradford takes in many of the still recognisable architectural splendours of a city which blew up during the industrial revolution from a relatively small market town to Britain's wool capital. Less obvious to the camera are the pollution and poor living conditions that came with this rapid growth: despite that, these streets may never again have looked so handsome.

At several points two Mitchell & Kenyon operatives, in hats and smart long coats, can be seen walking by the side of the road and directing pedestrians to perform for the camera. Look particularly for the group of stylishly dressed young women who are turned back to walk past the camera again.

On the Move

Britain in the early 20th century was a society in a hurry - and transport was changing fast.

The era of mass transportation launched by the Victorians gathered pace in the Edwardian age. Mitchell & Kenyon’s films feature countless trains, buses and trams, as well as horse-drawn coaches and bicycles, though cars are still a rarity.

People where the duo’s stock-in-trade, but transport could also take a leading role. Films feature boats, ferries and ocean liners, but much more common - and frequently magical - are those which take us on a journey by train or, especially, by tram, gliding through space and time into the heart of the towns and cities of our ancestors.