Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
This film is part of Free
Broadstairs and Margate Items
The Thanet coast features in this film by Enid Briggs - a woman filmmaker of the 1920s and 1930s - featuring boat rides, horses and family outings.
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Overview
This fascinating film from the early 1930s is all the more remarkable because it was made by a woman filmmaker, Enid Briggs. First we meet the Mullett family in Hythe before seeing early footage of the Romney. Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. Then we see family and friends on the pier at Deal, on a steamer to Margate and at playon the sands at Joss Bay. This is followed by horse-riding scenes around Broadstairs, on quiet streets still unaffected by cars. We also get a glimpse of a coastal tram.
Enid Briggs filmed scenes in Broadstairs in the 1920s and 1930s. These films are of particular interest because they were made from a woman's visual perspective. Born to a wealthy Leeds family in 1898, Enid moved, with her mother and sister, to a cliff-top home in Broadstairs in 1929. It was there that she took up the expensive hobby of 16mm film-making. She filmed family activities, outings and local events as well as scenes recording seaside performers like Uncle Mack’s Minstrels. Enid died in 1973 and her surviving films are now held in the Screen Archive South East collection.
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