This film is part of Free
Blackpool Promenade Extension (1905)
Edwardian holidaymakers stroll along the seafront as work continues on Blackpool's new promenade.
Overview
The crowds visiting Blackpool during the Easter of 1905 reached record heights. The resort town had become the holiday destination for the less well-off, who savoured their new leisure time. While Mitchell and Kenyon's films usually tried to cram the frame with faces, this one is as interested in the building work as it is in the teeming holidaymakers and the local market.
The Blackpool Times waxed especially lyrical on the town's success: "It is surprising how much Blackpool is appreciated by visitors, and how the sea has a charm for them all of its own... It is truly emancipation; and when sunny memories of happy, though brief, holidays crowd in upon them, can one wonder that these thousands of our industrial community should flock to Blackpool, there to renew old, or maybe to create new, association whose brightness will serve to illumine many a weary hour". The extension of Blackpool promenade had begun in 1894 and would extend as far as the South Pier, which opened in the same year.
Related
Trip to Sunny Vale Gardens at Hipperholme (1901) Trip to Sunny Vale Gardens at Hipperholme (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Hipperholme
Summertime laughs and larks at a West Yorkshire pleasure gardens.
Lady Godiva Procession in Coventry (1902) Lady Godiva Procession in Coventry (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 9 mins Silent Location: Coventry
Crowds pay homage to the legendary naked rider during Coventry’s Edwardian coronation celebrations.
Llandudno May Day (1907) Llandudno May Day (1907)
Non-Fiction 1907 5 mins Silent Location: Llandudno
May Day festivities in the North Wales town.
Sedgwick's Bioscope Showfront at Pendlebury Wakes (1901) Sedgwick's Bioscope Showfront at Pendlebury Wakes (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Pendlebury
Outside a fairground cinematograph in Edwardian Lancashire.
Panoramic View of the Morecambe Sea Front (1901) Panoramic View of the Morecambe Sea Front (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Morecambe
Crystal-clear views of town, sands, sea, tourists and locals at the Lancashire resort.
Bootle May Day Demonstration and Crowning of the May Queen (1903) Bootle May Day Demonstration and Crowning of the May Queen (1903)
Non-Fiction 1903 18 mins Silent Location: Bootle
May Day revellers brave a wet and windy day in Edwardian Merseyside.
Muscle - Exclusive Q&A Muscle - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 34 mins
Director Gerard Johnson talks Nia Child through the making of Muscle, an adrenalized drama that tears into the stereotypes of masculinity and male friendship.
Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 29 mins
Vicky Knight sits down with Rowan Woods for an extended discussion on the making of the film Silver Haze. *Contains Spoilers*
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.