This film is part of Free
Lady Godiva Procession in Coventry (1902)
Crowds pay homage to the legendary naked rider during Coventry’s Edwardian coronation celebrations.
Non-Fiction 1902 9 mins Silent
Overview
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.
Related
Edwardians at Leisure
Trip to Sunny Vale Gardens at Hipperholme (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Hipperholme
Summertime laughs and larks at a West Yorkshire pleasure gardens.
Panoramic View of Southport Promenade (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 4 mins Silent Location: Southport
All aboard the charabanc for a trip along an Edwardian promenade.
Waves at Southport (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent Location: Southport
Beautiful shots of gentle waves on a shingle beach.
Armley and Wortley Carnival (1904)
Non-Fiction 1904 3 mins Silent Location: Armley
The carnival comes to Leeds and a new Rose Queen is crowned.
Scenes in Abington Park, Northampton (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 1 mins Silent Location: Northampton
A camera pan through the park reveals teaming crowds and changing fashions in Edwardian hatwear.
Sunday Promenade of Spectators in West Park, Hull (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 5 mins Silent Location: West Park
Kingston-upon-Hull residents take the air and feed the birds in their Sunday finery.
Coventry
About Britain - Second Edition
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
Gay Rights
Current affairs 1986 7 mins Location: Coventry
Two councils with two different approaches to LGBT rights.
Immigration Control
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...
Warp and Woof
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.
Football Match on Large Screens
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.
Eric Russell Personal Film - Coventry
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.
New
Bamboozled
Comedy 1919 35 mins Silent
A protective father masquerades as an automatic doll in this bonkers interwar comedy.
Spirit of Mayday
1937 11 mins Silent
May Day – a significant day for the labour movement – is covered by the cameras of the Film and Photograph League.
Cornelius Cardew 1936-1981
Performance 1986 55 mins
An exploration of the life and work of the controversial British composer.
Circulation
1935 9 mins
Let it bleed? This exemplary education film gets to the heart of the matter.
U.A.B. (Workers Newsreel No.3)
Non-Fiction 1935 12 mins Silent
Punchy political film capturing mass protests against unemployment.
The Merry Month of May
1937 15 mins Silent
A spirited satire on the coronation of George VI made by members of the Film and Photograph League.