Download "Early English Traffic: Turn of the Century London (1896-1903) | British Pathé"

This remarkable archive footage shows London at the turn of the century, 1896-1903, and it turns out the traffic hasn't changed. Catch a rare glimpse at early forms of transportation like steam powered vehicles and at London landmarks like Tower Bridge. We have been contacted by the Traction Talk Forum who believe that this film may include the world's earliest moving image of a steam powered road vehicle. Members of the forum have noted that the steam lorry shown at 3:43 is a Thornycroft steam lorry, number 27, new in 1900, registration BB26. (BB is the registration for Newcastle upon Tyne.) This engine is fitted with a de Dion boiler and has a distinctive curved axle. It was new to the Newcastle Cooperative Wholesale Society. The forum's website is here: https://www.tractiontalkforum.com/index.php Many thanks to Russell Bulley for bringing the forum to our attention. For Archive Licensing Enquiries Visit: https://www.britishpathe.com/ Explore Our Online Channel For FULL Documentaries, Fascinating Interviews & Classic Movies: https://www.britishpathe.tv/ Subscribe to the British Pathé YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/britishpathe?sub_confirmation=1 (FILM ID:1674.01) Various dates and locations. A full breakdown of the film is below: Sunderland Bridge (1896) - Poor pedestrian, horse drawn carts, wagons and bus travel across bridge at Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. Boar Lane, Leeds (1903) - Pedestrians, horse carts wagons and electric tram cross large open cross roads near Boar Lane, Leeds, Yorkshire. Outside The Bank of England, London (1897) - Dense horse drawn traffic in front of the Bank, a few pedestrians try to pick their way between the buses and carriages. Hyde Park Corner, London (1897) - Hyde Park corner looking towards the park gates, pedestrians crowd the pavements, carriages and horse buses pass by. Newcastle Street, Tyne and Wear (1903) - Motor wagon, motor car, and horse drawn wagon pass along street, pavement is lined with onlookers. Westminster Bridge, London - View across bridge to House of Parliament and Big Ben. Traffic passes in foreground. Tower Bridge, London - Views of horse drawn buses and traffic crossing Bridge. Empire Theatre - Ext of cinema showing Lumiere films. Handsome cabs draw up. Piccadilly Circus, London - Statue of Eros. People walk in foreground. Buses carry adverts for Cadbury's and Lipton's. (Some shots repeated). Horseguard's Parade, London - Short bleak shot of cavalry soldiers riding. Bradford Square, Yorkshire (1903) - Square at Bradford crowded with pedestrians, civilian band crosses square watched by small crowd a steam tram also crosses the square. London Bridge, London (1896) - View across the bridge with horse drawn vehicles and pedestrians crossing the bridge. Street Entertainers (Minstrels) - Blacked up entertainers sing and dance to a small crowd in the open street. Cataloguer's Note: - Obviously this material is very old and grainy but never the less great stuff - MD. BRITISH PATHÉ'S STORY Before television, people came to movie theatres to watch the news. British Pathé was at the forefront of cinematic journalism, blending information with entertainment to popular effect. Over the course of a century, it documented everything from major armed conflicts and seismic political crises to the curious hobbies and eccentric lives of ordinary people. If it happened, British Pathé filmed it. Now considered to be the finest newsreel archive in the world, British Pathé is a treasure trove of 85,000 films unrivalled in their historical and cultural significance. British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/