The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Seaton Burn Flower Show and Sports
The wonder of the camera attracts a jubilant flower show crowd in this moving portrait of the Seaton Burn mining community soon after World War One.
From the collection of:
Overview
The flame-like decay of this nitrate stock lends a haunting beauty to an extraordinary local film. The mining community of Seaton Burn enjoy their annual summer flower show, sports (quoits, athletics) and funfair, an exuberant event in the wake of the First World War. A none-too camera shy showman in a homburg playfully directs the crowd, a mass of caps, bonnets and cheeky lads in high spirits, a young miner and his sweetheart sharing a passionate kiss for the camera.
The Seaton Burn Floral and Horticultural Society was inaugurated in 1856, with organised sports events gradually becoming the focal point during annual flower shows in the shadow of the colliery pithead, attracting competitors from all over the coalfield. By the 1890s professional starters and handicappers had emerged. Early independent exhibitors understood the business value of capturing as many of the faces as possible on film with an eye on its appeal to a local audience. It is not known who commissioned this film, which may have been screened at a Bioscope show at the travelling fairground pictured here. The Queens Picture House at Seaton Burn did not open until around 1921.
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