The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Battle of the Roses
This is a wonderful medley of scenes from Scarborough in 1930, with lovely costumes on the May Day Procession, fantastic fancy dress and enormous fun being had by holidaymakers.
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Overview
An exceptional film showing why people flocked to Scarborough in its heyday between the wars. It presents a rich tapestry of seaside activities: from the beautiful entourage of the May Day Queen on the steps of the Spa, to zany characters in exorbitant fancy dress, imaginatively decorated floats, terrific fun and games on the boating lake at Peasholme Park and South Bay Lido, pulling in the lifeboat, early dodgems and an ice skating captain.
The maker of this fascinating film is a mystery, it being discovered in a house clearance, finding its way in 1959 to the projectionist of the Rex Cinema in Elland, Pete Berry, who deposited it with the YFA. We can only be thankful to whoever the filmmaker was. The title too is something of an enigma. Although already a well established spa town, Scarborough grew into the holiday seaside town seen in the film in the second half of the nineteenth century, prompted by the early arrival of the railway in 1845, when the town grew rapidly and many of its well-known attractions were built. Later this included Peasholm Park, created in 1911-12, and the South Bay Lido which opened in 1915 (now sadly no longer).
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