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.
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.