Local History Videos

  Glimpse the past through old images of Knightsbridge, in the City of Westminster, London. Society Weddings 1937 On 20th July 1937, Mr Vernon Harington (Major Edward Henry Vernon Harington) and Miss Mary Egerton (Mary Elizabeth Egerton) got married at Holy Trinity Church. Guests included the dog called Mrs Bonzo, and two of the bridgesmaids were nieces of Elizabeth, Queen to the recently crowned King George VI. Sadly, they divorced in 1949 after having two children, Veronica and Victoria. Vernon Harington then married Mary Johanna Jean Cox, with whom he had two children in the 1950s, Marie and Susan. It's a shame that we don't know who the society wedding was for. But some local people have stopped to watch the events recorded in this silent footage. Knightsbridge Wedding (1937) - British Pathé on YouTube Knightsbridge Barracks 1956 This 1956 newsreel visited the Household Cavalry, based at Knightsbridge Barracks. The tailor and armourer are seen at work, and we also see men o...

  Glimpse history through fascinating old images of the Chelsea Pensioners in London. Chelsea Pensioner 1947 It's a great shame that the newsreel made in 1947 didn't name the Chelsea pensioners shown, or say how old they were or where they served. But it's a nice look at how this version of old age living suited these men well. Chelsea Pensioner Issue Title Is Pathe Pictorial Looks At Passing Of The Years (1947) - British Pathé on YouTube Cheese and Wine 1965 Unfortunately only the name of one of the Chelsea Pensioners in this 1965 silent footage, Fred Shears, is known. He is the eldest Chelsea Pensioner in the Chelsea Hospital that year, and is seen cutting the cheese with his sword for the guests. The chef helps the frail Mr Shears. The guests included Sir Gerald Templer, Lieutenant General Sir Frank Simpson and Lieutenant Colonel Valder Gates, who stand talking by the cheese. Christmas Cheese Ceremony At Chelsea Hospital (1965) - British Pathé on YouTube WW1 Veterans In ...

  Glimpse the past through old images of the Chelsea Arts Ball in years gone by. Seeing in 1954 As 1953 came to an end, about 5,000 people gathered at the Royal Albert Hall to see in the new year. Everyone was in fancy dress for the ball organised by the Chelsea Arts Club. After the balloons are released from the ceiling to be popped, the tableaux comes out for a parade, with 150 Rugby blues keeping the crowds of sozzled people back. Then one of the floats falls over into the spectators, and suddenly there are arts students down on the ground fighting in a bit to stop the rest of the crowd pulling the floats to bits. By the end, there were 25 people with minor injuries and one person had to go to hospital. Looking good for the class of 1954 there! Chelsea Arts Ball (1954) - British Pathé on YouTube Rock'n'Roll for 1957 And the cameras are back to capture more mayhem for the Chelsea Arts Ball seeing in 1957. Again, everyone is in fancy dress, but it's hard to work out how so...

  Glimpse history through old images of the Regent's Canal, which runs through the north of Central London. Regent's Canal in 1938 When the Regent's Canal Company was formed in 1812 to build a new waterway from the Grand Junction Canal's Paddington Arm to the proposed dock at Limehouse, the aim was purely industrial. But by 1938, the Regent's Canal was a well established green space for city dwellers to get away from the noise and traffic, even though motorised freight barges still transported goods. The short film also includes a look at Regent's Park, and the canal at Maida Vale. Regents Canal (1938) - British Pathé on YouTube A Bit of Regent's Canal History Extract from a historic book, published to raise objections to construction of the canal. "Brief Remarks on the proposed Regent's Canal. By an Observer" Published in 1812 Pages 20 - 22 It now remains to enumerate the disadvantages of the project, after which the reader will determine in h...

  Glimpse the past through old images of the London Underground Victoria Line, built during the 1960s. Building the Victoria Line 1965 When this 1965 newsreel starts, we see one of the bomb sites left over from World War II which had ended twenty years before. Such sites were now quickly disappearing under the modern buildings springing up in London, shown in the introduction. And part of the redevelopment of London at the time included the new London Underground Victoria Line, to run from Victoria to Walthamstow, ten miles away. It was the first new London Underground railway line to be built for 35 years. 70 feet below Cavendish Square, the construction men work without any safety equipment, not even a pair of gloves. Later we see them smoking as they work, and near the end one man even gets hit by falling clay. They manually push and hoist huge carts full of clay up to the surface, through tunnels down below Oxford Circus. The clay is extracted with shovels and pneumatic drills,...

  London is the capital city of England, but it’s actually located in two different counties - Greater London and the City of London - and used to be spread across six counties before a 1965 reorganisation. This page is about the county of Greater London, although there is much overlap with the City of London county which it surrounds. Boroughs Of Greater London 5 million people lived in London in 1900, which was 20% of the population of Britain at the time.  By the mid-twentieth century London was depopulating as people moved out in large numbers to the modern housing estates being built across South East England. Later the same century London’s cultural life attracted young people for work and city living, while the job vacancies arising out of an increasingly wealthy city drew in migrants from all over the world.  In 2019, over 9 million people now live in London, even as second homes and empty investment properties there are booming.  According to  CityMetri...

  Glimpse the past through old images of the Cheslea Flower Show, one of the world's most famous flower shows. The Royal Hostricultural Society started their Great Spring Show in Chiswick in 1833, before moving to the R.H.S. Kensington Garden in 1862, then to the Temple Gardens in 1888, and finally to the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea in 1913. Since 1993 other venues have provided additional space for the rapidly increasing numbers of visitors, which is roughly 157,000 people a year over the five day event. Chelsea Flower Show 1964 The riot on offer at the preview for the Chlesea Flower Show in 1964 was enjoyed in full technicolor in this newsreel. Harry Wheatcroft appears in the rose marquee. The Countess of Ross, Princess Alexandria and her husband, the Princess Royal (Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood), the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Queen Mother, Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II are some of the distinguished guests filmed at the preview. Ch...