Whitsuntide Fair at Preston (1906)

This film is part of the Mitchell and Kenyon collection - an amazing visual record of everyday life in Britain at the beginning of the twentieth century.
To buy the DVD click here - www.bfi.org.uk/filmstore
All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collect...

[@ericellis3506]

Tremendous quality.

[@ayubpatel3605]

Who in Gods pimple laden planet would give this breathtaking piece of Prestonian history a thumps down. Even if you were a hardened Blackpool FC fanatic archive footage which is over 100 years should be spellbinding

[@gsf67]

My Grandfather came from Preston, would have been about 3yrs old at the time it was filmed.

[@cccz2209]

As a Prestonian it's so lovely to see this old footage. As far as I'm aware there is still a fair there every year. The last time I went was probably about 7 years ago. 😊

[@bbcisrubbish]

The clarity of the photography is amazing.

[@blzbob7936]

Such a treat to see film of Preston in this year! My Grandparents were toddlers in Preston at this time. Thank you for uploading! x

[@coryzachariasen8100]

I want to go on that ride.....

[@davedogge2280]

Jesus I walked these streets as a kid in the 1980s but the different people from another time make it look like a different planet.

[@MILITARY1231]

This is amazing when proper people existed

[@onlytruerose1333]

Fantastic upload! Thanks for uploading it. God bless all in this video.

[@marioandrikopoulos2158]

I Like this Old Time!

[@edwardhogan1877]

Unusually high quality for its time. We would have been expecting jerky human activity and rain.

[@owtatowttowt]

I lov these films, amazing this has survived. mi Gt Garamma'sd bin about 5 at this time. wonder what she was doing while this was going on. I wonder...

[@dischargesummary8794]

My extended family is from Preston...I wonder if any of them are in this footage?

[@martinwarner1178]

I'm here to try to find out what happened to our Whit holiday weekend. Me and my family used to walk to a fair, through English woodland, blue bells and stinking nannies as our our carpet. Who changed that? Peace and goodwill.

[@rachelwalmsley5893]

Poor little lads if only they knew what was coming 😢

[@callumfitzpatrick4973]

Fascinating stuff like this. The staggering difference between life and society back then compared to now 115 years later. The way people dressed, no cars and women being notably more humble due to lack of wrights compared to feminists hostility now and women's general uppity attitude would have been almost none existent back then, society had certain expectations of women back then and 99 percent of them lived up to those expectations. Now women do what the fuck they want. I'd love to just be able to live a week in Preston and London in 1904 and see what life was like by immersing myself in the people and culture by living amongst them.

[@Wotsitorlabart]

Misogyny is alive and well.

[@kiltedjohn1000]

you wonder that maybe the horse will be reintroduced to save alot of money ,,petrol wise

[@MrHeesbeen]

It would be difficult getting them on the treadmill to generate electricity kiltedjohn1000 !

[@jedw]

In 1906 they didn't have to worry about the digital compression that has rendered this almost unwatchable ..

[@bizzjoe]

"not so many over-weight people"... stop saying that ..

[@ashboi4]

@Hona Hona shut up, dont be mean.

[@martinwarner1178]

@@ashboi4 Very very true though....fatty.

[@DominicGrindrod]

Love my hometown Proud to be a Prestonian