At Belmont Methodist Church

An inclusive look at the Belmont community - young, old, even pets - dressed in their Sunday best.

Endearing and nostalgic black-and-white footage shows the locals of Belmont, Sutton clad in their Sunday best, absorbed in one another’s company, playing with a neighbourhood dog, and smiling side-by-side for the camera. They gather for a few complimentary shots. And the comfort apparent in their grinning faces is telling of a tightly knit community, converging for a Sunday Church service at the local (now closed) Methodist Church in Sutton.

Shot by amateur filmmaker Ivan Bawtree, formerly a photographer for the British Red Cross during the First World War. This film is from the collection of Sutton Archives, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.