Winchelsea and Its Surroundings

Legendary Punch cartoonist Harry Furniss leads a pictorial tour of the beautiful East Sussex town.

Most contemporary viewers of this film would have instantly recognised the avuncular figure with the sketchbook as Harry Furniss, a cartoonist whose contributions to Punch and other publications upset quite a few leading politicians. Here he turns his talent to capturing the delights of Winchelsea, the coastal town in East Sussex. Furniss lived and worked in nearby Hastings.

The prolific Furniss was a dab hand at the 'lightning sketch' - high-speed filmed illustration, often incorporating bits of animation, that was popular in Britain around this time. He also scripted and appeared in a clutch of comedy dramas for Thomas Edison's company in the United States. Stage actor Ellen Terry (1848-1928), whose house is shown in the film, was the most celebrated stage actress of the Victorian era.