London's New Borough

Bunting, boats, funfairs and donkey rides as cheering crowds celebrate the great day Twickenham is made a municipal borough.

On 22nd September 1926, Twickenham was elevated from urban district to municipal borough and marked the occasion with Charter Day celebrations, captured in this film. It begins with a view of the Lyric Palace cinema, screening Mord Em’Ly but also advertising the Charter Day. Highlights include shots of the high street, draped in flags; huge crowds outside York House; games in the park; a boy on a fairground donkey and extensive shots of boats in procession on the Thames.

The film contains many great scenes of the day’s festivities, including shots of the streets fulsomely decorated for the occasion. We see the Charter of Incorporation handed by the Home Secretary to the Charter Mayor, Dr John Rudd Leeson, before it’s transported in a procession around the town, ending at York House, the new Town Hall, for speeches. The funfair was at Marble Hill Park. There’s also a display of historic boats on the Thames – the huge building in the background in these shots is the Royal Star & Garter in Richmond, the recently completed home for injured servicemen.