This film is part of Free

This England - London: City and Covent Garden

A man with a dozen baskets on his head and Big Ben shrouded in scaffolding feature in this amateur movie exploring various London sites in 1934.

Amateur film 1934 15 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for London's Screen Archives

Overview

This wonderful amateur film intersperses shots of well-known London locations – Big Ben being repaired, Westminster Abbey, Temple Church – with occasionally head-scratching captions relating to topical goings-on such as the 1934 budget. Contains some real gems, such as Pearly Kings and Queens, Covent Garden high jinx, a train leaving Canon Street, Thames bargemen, Billingsgate porters and tourists crossing Westminster Bridge. Credited to John Wilson.