This film is part of Free
Tower Bridge Road Market...
Scenes of thronging street life and market trading along Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey Street and Southwark Park Road.
Overview
This remarkable film documents working class London life along and around Bermondsey's bustling Tower Bridge Road. We see thriving fruit markets, butchers' and bakers' shops, and M. Manze's famous eel and pie shop, which survives today. The intertitles help to orientate us by pointing out the location of (now long-lost) pubs and inns - the Bricklayer's Arms, the Horse Shoe and the Colleen Bawn.
The film captures an array of street traffic, including the fascinated faces of traders and pedestrians, who stare intently into the camera, as well as horse-drawn carts, steam and motor lorries, and various other vehicles. The site known as Bricklayer's Arms, at the junction of Tower Bridge Road and Old Kent Road, formerly housed a coaching inn and a short-lived London railway terminus. The Horse Shoe pub was found next door to the 'Trocette' cinema, demolished in 1975. The area still plays host to an antiques market every Friday in Bermondsey Square.
Related
Shirley Schools Shirley Schools
Documentary 1929 24 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
The care and education of Bermondsey's orphans and abandoned children - before the introduction of the welfare state.
Morgan's Wall Morgan's Wall
Documentary 1978 51 mins Location: Battersea
Murals around London, notably Morgan's Wall in Battersea, painted by local artists.
Help for Russia Help for Russia
Documentary 1941 12 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
"Your money means death to Nazism": Bermondsey holds a great parade in aid of Russia during WWII.
The Story of Our Food Supply The Story of Our Food Supply
Public Information Filler 1928 20 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
The original foodie city: from bustling Bermondsey Wharves through Smithfield and Billingsgate to London's street markets and general stores.
Public Health Service Public Health Service
Documentary 1931 14 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
White-coated scientists, doctors, chiropodists, dentists, and midwives unite in their mission to eradicate disease and ignorance from Bermondsey.
Worker and War Front No. 12 Worker and War Front No. 12
Cinemagazine 1944 11 mins Location: Bermondsey
A wartime magazine made to motivate and inform war workers, commissioned by the Ministry of Information in 1942 and exclusively screened in factories.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.