The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Sheffield Tram Decorated for 1902 Coronation
A whole world is opened up in just 30 seconds as we enter the Edwardian age, as trams barge through a bustling Sheffield street past bonnets jostling with top hats and cloth caps.
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Overview
As the modern age strains to emerge from the Victorian era, this short actuality film presents in microcosm the slowly changing fashion and technology that marks the new century. And with the first coronation in 63 years, the bugles are out and the open top trams –having not one, but two conductors – and buildings are decorated with the usual patriotic bunting, which would be brought out again a decade later.
It isn’t known who made this early actuality film, possibly Sheffield Photo Company, established by filmmaker Frank Mottershaw, which had its offices on Fargate. The view in the film is possibly looking down Fargate, before the Star and Telegraph building went up on the High Street. The programme for the day of celebrations on Saturday 9th August included a service in the Parish Church – which later became Sheffield Cathedral. This was probably preceded by a procession from the Town Hall along Fargate. The coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in August 1902 marked the end of the longest ever reign of a British monarch. Edward became also King of the British Dominions and Emperor of India.
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