Street Scenes in North of England (c.1902)

A mysterious but vivid snapshot of Edwardian life.

A soggy cobbled street around 1902, probably in Lancashire. We know frustratingly little about this film, but it's stunningly-preserved and crammed with evocative detail. Men, grimy from factory work, share the street with shawled and hatted women millworkers and children in clogs. All endure the drizzle, and the delight and fascination of the children at the presence of the camera shine through.

The camera takes in little by way of distinguishing landmarks, and this street, if it survives at all, may be entirely unrecognisable today. The bearded, bowler-hatted man near the end of the film could be one of Mitchell and Kenyon's showman collaborators, or part of the crew.