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Athletes and acrobats wow the crowds at the annual Cycling Club carnival.
Non-Fiction 1902 7 mins Silent
Sporting prowess plays second fiddle to novelty in this exhibition of Leeds showmanship. Speed, excitement and dynamism are captured by the panning camera, which mirrors the movement of the steeplechasers and cyclists zipping around the track. Next up, a variety act: the Mazonda champion barrel-jumpers. Such acts were a hugely popular mainstay of the swelling Edwardian entertainment industry.
This film was commissioned by entertainment entrepreneur Tom Barrasford, who owned several theatres across the UK, including the Tivoli in Leeds, where the Mazonda barrel-jumpers were a regular attraction. Barrasford clearly had a commercial interest in giving the troupe a starring role in this film, which would serve to further promote their regular turn at the Tivoli. The cinematograph was frequently billed during variety theatre programmes and it's more than likely that this film would itself have been shown at the Tivoli. Following this performance at the Cycling Club Carnival the Wigan Examiner reported: "The Mazondas are stated to be champions in their particular line, and exhibit some really marvellous tub jumping, which has the additional merit of being novel."
Non-Fiction 1902 4 mins Silent Location: Kingston upon Hull
Rugby arch rivals lock horns in Hull.
Non-Fiction 1901 19 mins Silent Location: Leeds
Jolly japes and jumping in the lake - it's the water carnival in Leeds on Lifeboat Day.
Non-Fiction 1902 5 mins Silent Location: Accrington
Rare film record of an Edwardian local league cricket game between two Lancashire sides.
Non-Fiction 1901 9 mins Silent Location: Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Did he bowl or did he throw? A fascinating record of an early cricketing controversy.
Non-Fiction 1902 12 mins Silent Location: Birmingham
Crowds enjoying the spectacle at Birmingham Athletics Club.
Non-Fiction 1902 2 mins Silent Location: Burnley
First-ever footage of Manchester United in a tense Edwardian football fixture.
Non-Fiction 1926 1 mins Silent Location: Headingley
A masterful innings by Australian batsman Macartney in the third test at Headingley.
Nature and Science programme 1954 14 mins Silent Location: Headingley
The metamorphosis of the eating machine which is the caterpillar, into an Emperor Moth, revealed in all its detail and presented in 15 minutes.
Nature and Science programme 1949 6 mins Silent Location: Headingley
An extraordinary film made by amateurs showing a wide variety of species of bees in close up feeding from an equally wide variety of flowers.
Non-Fiction 1935 3 mins Silent Location: Headingley
When rugby league players looked no different from footballers, and the crowds were just as big, and not wearing a hat was an eccentricity.
Non-Fiction 1956 8 mins Silent Location: Leeds
A trip across Leeds in March 1956 on board the 194 tram, advertising Hemmingway Ales, passing the local traffic, the Civic Hall and other notable landmarks.
Amateur film 1957 21 mins Silent Location: Headingley
A wonderful film of secondary school lads in 1950s Leeds, out playing fast rugby on a frosty winter morning, reading in the library, but also larking about as they swig school milk.
Charity appeal 2020 2 mins
Beautiful NHS fundraiser, setting Michael Rosen’s poem to powerful archive images.
Non-Fiction 1924 1 mins Silent Location: Woking
The UK's first purpose-built mosque welcomes a huge crowd of worshippers - and newsreel cameras!
Comedy 1914 9 mins Silent
A vicar is caught flirting with an improperly-dressed chorus girl in this saucy silent comedy.
Non-Fiction 1901 4 mins Silent Location: Manchester
A volunteer cavalry regiment is enthusiastically welcomed home after active service in South Africa.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Liverpool
All ashore! Passengers disembark and crew offload after a long Atlantic crossing.
Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent Location: Weston Park
A stroll in the park for civilised city-dwellers in Edwardian South Yorkshire.
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