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Crowds pay homage to the legendary naked rider during Coventry’s Edwardian coronation celebrations.
Non-Fiction 1902 9 mins Silent
Godgifu, an 11th century noblewoman, famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry to save her people from what historian Daniel Donoghue described as "an oppressive and shameful servitude". This film comprises four extracts from a two to three-hour procession, held in Coventry on the afternoon of 9 September 1902 to commemorate her legend and to mark the coronation of Edward VII.
The procession starred the fabulously voluptuous and successful London Hippodrome actress Vera Guedes as Godiva/Godgifu. The film opens with a lingering shot of Godiva on horseback (in a flesh-coloured dress), highlighting her significance in the event. The remaining sequences shift the focus as the procession is used to exhibit local trade.
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Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Hipperholme
Summertime laughs and larks at a West Yorkshire pleasure gardens.
Non-Fiction 1902 4 mins Silent Location: Southport
All aboard the charabanc for a trip along an Edwardian promenade.
Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent Location: Southport
Beautiful shots of gentle waves on a shingle beach.
Non-Fiction 1904 3 mins Silent Location: Armley
The carnival comes to Leeds and a new Rose Queen is crowned.
Non-Fiction 1902 1 mins Silent Location: Northampton
A camera pan through the park reveals teaming crowds and changing fashions in Edwardian hatwear.
Non-Fiction 1902 5 mins Silent Location: West Park
Kingston-upon-Hull residents take the air and feed the birds in their Sunday finery.
Amateur film 1965 12 mins Location: London
Join the Clague family as they zoom up an empty M1 to Stratford upon Avon, Long Itchington and Coventry - a city reborn after its 1940 destruction
Current affairs 1986 7 mins Location: Coventry
Two councils with two different approaches to LGBT rights.
Current affairs 1978 9 mins Location: West Bromwich
The UK's immigration laws have prevented Dara Singh from seeing his family for a decade. His is one of many sad stories...
Documentary 1975 26 mins Location: Ruddington
The industrial Midlands pioneered textile production; from the framework knitters of Nottinghamshire to the birth of the modern factory in the Derwent valley in Derbyshire.
News 1965 3 mins Location: Coventry
As normal the fans are packed into Coventry City's Highfield Road ground for a match. The difference is that the game is being played 130 miles away in Cardiff.
Amateur film 1936 11 mins Silent Location: Coventry
The surreal presence of barrage balloons on the Coventry skyline gives this home movie an end-of-an-era feel.
News 1963 1 mins Location: Devon
Responses to questions about dressing to please are of their day.
Amateur film 1963 16 mins Silent Location: Kirkby Stephen
Sheep dipping, horse shoeing, and other Cumbrian farming scenes.
Amateur film 1966 3 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
A prestigious occasion for the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.
Amateur film 1972 19 mins Silent Location: Bickershaw
Mud and music at Wigan's answer to Woodstock.
News 1981 4 mins Location: Truro
A shop owner in Truro sells unusual pets.
News 1961 5 mins Location: Exmouth
Kay Gray of Exmouth is interviewed about her campaign to stop the transportation of tortoises.
