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Spectators Promenading in Weston Park, Sheffield (1902)

A stroll in the park for civilised city-dwellers in Edwardian South Yorkshire.

Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent

Overview

This elegantly framed film shows off the formal landscaping of Sheffield's first municipal park, and its noticeably genteel visitors. Bowler-hatted gents carry canes or umbrellas and ladies push swaddled babies in ornate prams, smiling at the camera all the while. The crowds gathering behind hint at a public occasion or procession, but the promenaders take centre stage.

When these pictures were shot Sheffield's Weston Park was less than 30 years old, the site having been developed by the council from the former grounds of Weston Hall. The task of landscaping the park was given to celebrated 19th century garden designer Robert Marnock, who also designed London's Regent's Park. Weston Hall was turned into the City Museum and developed to include the Mappin Art Gallery (both since rebuilt), visible in the final shot.

Genres

Non-Fiction

Country

United Kingdom

Location

Weston Park

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

Parks

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