Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
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Canterbury 1962
This colourful feast for Classic Car fans shows the streets of Canterbury in 1962 - with period fashions, period shops and period cars
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Overview
John Clague's colourful film starts with restful scenes in one of Canterbury's floral gardens with views of the Great Stour river and beds of pretty begonias. We then see traffic meandering through the city's medieval streets. Cars, buses and lorries wend their way past streets lined with shops, both ancient and modern, some bearing once familiar names, as well as large numbers of pedestrians.
John Clague was a keen amateur filmmaker who was based in Herne Bay. From 1934 to 1970 he produced annual newsreels showing events in Kent, particularly in Herne Bay and Canterbury. He used 9.5mm film at first but by the 1950s had adopted 16mm film and the collection forms a lively chronicle of Kentish life over 36 years. An architect by profession, John set up his own company in the 1930s, working on a diverse range of projects throughout the region.
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