Contains films made by and relating to Ernest Symmons, film maker and founder of the Beverley Picture Playhouse.
Duration: 1 hour, 17 mins
Timing: Action on film.
'Beverley Through the Ages', 10 Jul 1937. Historical pageant procession, organised by Ernest Symmons:
Parade of people in period costume, depicting the history of Beverley
(00:29) Celts, Druids and Romans (organised by Kenneth Ellwell and Walter Goodeth); scenes of St John entering Beverley, coming of the Danes, King Athelstan, sanctuary, and Archbishop Thurstan (played by Sir Reginald Mitchell-Banks.)
(02:28) Franciscan and Domican friars, merchants, peddlers and minstrels. Beverley Medieval Craft Guild and an unidentified play.
(03:29) Bishop Fisher, Henry VIII and Catherine Howard visit Beverley. (arranged by Miss Madge Whiting.)
(05:19) Fred Elwell as Lord Hastings
(06:12) Presentation of charter by Elizabeth I, re-enactment.
(06:55) Charles I moves court from York to Beverley in 1642, re-enactment.
(07:23) Return of Sir Charles Hotham and Sir Michael Walter as MPs for Beverley, re-enactment.
(07:43) Victorian section
(08:43) Beverley of today 1937. Beverley bus (with dome-shaped roof to fit through North Bar ) is parked to right of scene. Includes representatives of armed forces, sport, civic life and entertainment, including fox hunting.
(09:30) The Mayor of Beverley Mr Burden, his wife and the Town Clerk Mr John [Denneth]
(09:47) Representatives of the Regal, Picture Playhouse and Marble Arch cinemas.
(09:54) Queens of Beverley Yorkshire and places overseas also called 'Beverley' -
Miss Beverley Yorkshire 1937, Margaret Evans.
Miss Beverley Massachusetts, Irene Ireland
Miss Beverley Ohio, Mary Waddington.
Miss Beverley Western Australia, Betty Stevenson
Miss Beverley Orange Free State, Rene Overfield
Miss Beverley Saskatchewan, Audrey Blackett
Herald was Miss Audrey Jepps.
End of parade.
Series of short films:
(10:38) Enactment of man seeking Sanctuary in medieval times
(12:44) Re-enactment of Charter being presented to Beverley by Archbishop Thurstan
(13:08) Re-enactment of a Georgian procession involving John Wesley
(13:33) Re-enactment of an event involving Henry VIII, played by Major Norman Birch, with Catherine Howard played by Miss Nancy Hall
(14:51) 'In the Romantic Days of the Early Victorian Era.' Dramatic fictional sequence filmed at Bishop Burton:
Includes:
(14:55) Bishop Burton parish church.
(15:18) Gentleman on penny-farthing bicycle. Also at (18:26)
(15:30) Old lady character played by the late Miss Nicholls
(16:29) Courting couple in garden. Girl's father throws young man out.
(18:26) View of part of Bishop Burton pond from the A1079
(18:36) Couple elope and are married by the village blacksmith.
(20:51) The Playhouse News:
Includes:
(21:06) Founders Day Beverley Grammar School. 18 Jun 1942.
Boys in scout and army cadet uniforms march pass Lord Mayor outside Minster and then enter Minster. Accompanied by comic music.
(24:22) The Playhouse News presents on location with 'The Lease of Life.' 1954 feature film. Location shots outside Beverley Minster. Director Michael Balcon, wearing a beret, is directing the action for a scene with Robert Donat as Rev William Thorne. Accompanied by comic music.
(26:45) 'The Man With The Note-Book' 1946. Road safety film in which the narrator walks around Beverley and elsewhere, making notes about road accidents and their causes (staged):
Includes:
(27:46) View of Ladygate
(28:02) [Dog and Duck] public house exterior Ladygate
(28:13) View of [Norwood] with 'East Yorkshire' buses
(28:24) Children in hospital (unidentified)
(28:47)) 'Kerb Drill'
(28:53) View of Saturday Market
(29:29) View of North Bar Within
(29:45) 'The Case of the Open Gate' mock tea party in a rural country garden
(32:28) 'The Case of Richard Shaw', elderly gentleman
(32:32) View of North Bar Without
(32:40) Rose and Crown public house exterior
(32:44) Rose and Crown public house interior
(32:58) Beer and dominoes in the Rose & Crown public house
(35:16) On board an East Yorkshire bus
(35:34) East Yorkshire bus in transit
(36:27) 'Richard Shaw' gets knocked down by a motor vehicle
(36:57) 'Richard Shaw' is taken away by ambulance
(37:34) View of New Walk Cemetery, Beverley
(38:15) Statement that 30-40,000 people seriously injured each year on the UK's roads
Unidentified documentary film about Ernest Symmons and the Beverley Picture Playhouse:
Includes:
(38:40) Market Cross and Corn Exchange (Picture Playhouse) exterior. in 1960s.
(39:16) Picture Playhouse interior with Bingo game - being called by Peter Robinson.
(41:11) In swimming pool
(41:18) Mrs Symmons and her son reminisce about Mr Symmons:
(43:05) Films shot of promenade at Hull, wreck of R38 airship
(44:22) End of Second World War celebrations in Hull
(44:44) Decorative plaques inside playhouse, daily disinfection notice, and description of buzzer Mr Symmons used to signal to projectionist.
(46:20) Peter Robinson talks about 'atmosphere' at the playhouse.
(47:31) Exterior of playhouse. [Council offical] talking about change of usage for the playhouse.
(49:59) Unidentified documentary film about the Howden R38 Airship crash in 1921, no sound and some scenes are repeated:
Includes:
(50:01) Introduction from presenter by [Humber Estuary] [1970s]
(50:50) R33 airship in flight
(50:58) R38 airship wreckage in water.
(51:39) Crew member walking inside [struts] of an airship
(51:42) Cocktails and food being served to passengers
(51:52) Docking mechanism in action
(52:03) Map of Humber Estuary, focusing on Howden
(52:12) [Howden] airfield with airships and hangars.
(52:20) Photographs of [airship crew]
(55:12) Crowds on Victoria Pier in Hull.
(55:18) Airship wreckage in the water, on a ship, and on land.
(56:20) Funeral procession for some of airship crew, Hull, 2 Dec 1921.
(56:57) Unidentified documentary film [1974] covering Hull and Sheffield during the Second World War. With commentary and excerpts from broadcasts of the time. Accompanied by music from the period. Includes:
(56:58) Filling a bath and getting washed
(57:15) A dance event
(58:00) Women and girls working at a Sheffield steelworks
(58:43) Military parade in Sheffield with Matilda tanks, parts for which were manufactured in the city 1939. Also with trams
(59:23) Winston Churchill at Hull Sheriffs' banquet
(59:49) Home Guard parade at Elland Road, Leeds, in front of Anthony Eden
(1:00:06) Home Guard practising manoeuvres, including members assembled around a machine guard
(1:00:58) Firewatchers practice putting out fire with hand-pump, later assisted by an auxiliary fire engine [simulation of an incendiary attack]
(1:01:34) Drill for gas attack in Sheffield. Public, Air Raid Precautions, fire wardens, and public citizens all in gas masks.
(1:02:55) Bombs being loaded onto planes. Bomber pilots, Linton, 1941.
(103:12) Whitley bomber planes and their crew in flight
(1:03:40) Lancaster bomber planes in flight
(1:04:21) Women dancing together in a Hull park, as no men to dance with.
(1:04:50) Blitz in Hull, scenes of burning buildings May 1941.
(1:05:20) 'Universal News', newsclip. The name of Hull is released as one of the North East. cities under attack. With footage of bomb damage and devastation.
(1:06:10) A Hull tram passes briefly into shot
(1:06:33) A woman retrieves her washing mangle from the debris
(1:06:48) Mobile emergency bath unit in Hull.
(1:07:23) Civil Defence members George Howell, William Sigsworth and George Sewell all awarded the George Medal. They prevented a petrol tank from exploding.
(1:07:45) Jimmy Hodgson, 15 year old fire messenger helped a trapped girl in the blitz. He was awarded the MBE.
(1:08:05) Tea party with 98-year-old Mrs Welshman who refuses to move from blitzed home.
(1:08:39) Blitzed houses with messages chalked on the walls for missing relatives.
(1:08:45) People getting on a bus to go to large shelter outside central Hull. Scenes of good spirits in the shelter.
(1:09:19) Crowds in Whitefriargate.
(1:09:27) King George VII and Queen Elizabeth (future 'Queen Mother') visit Hull.
(1:10:08) King and Queen talking to officials and ordinary people in blitzed streets.
(1:10:53) Prospect Cafeteria sign.
(1:11:05) Crowds waving Union Jacks in celbration of the Royal visit
(1:11:17) Winston Churchill in motorcade, Sheffield 1941
Unknown documentary about Beverley Picture Playhouse:
Includes:
(1:11:50) Queue at Beverley Picture Playhouse in 1980s.
(1:12:20) Drawing of Corn Exchange in 19th century.
(1:12:26) Picture of Ernest Symmons, a London portrait photographer, who leased the Corn Exchange in 1911. He and his brother-in-law Leslie Holderness converted it into a cinema.
(1:12:34) Close up of poster for opening night 20 Feb 1911.
(1:12:48) 'The Playhouse News'
(1:12:52) Photograph of Ernest Symmons with his camera
(1:12:55) Mrs Symmons talking about her husband's filming methods.
(1:13:08) Picture of Mr and Mrs Symmons in a motorcycle and sidecar with film equipment.
(1:13:33) Mrs Symmons describes how she rushed back from Hull to alert her husband to the R38 airship crash. He filmed the wreckage and sold the film to Pathe News.
(1:14:50) Two photographs of the playhouse staff c.1920
(1:15:15) Mrs Symmons describes her husband's organisation of the 1937 'Beverley Through The Ages' pageant.
(1:16:01) 'Universal News' newsclip with excerpts from Symmons's films of Hull blitz and Royal visit.
(1:16:44) The Playhouse in 1960s, and Peter Robinson, the bingo caller who converted the playhouse back into a cinema in 1980s.
(1:17:07) Peter Robinson, looking forward to 20 Feb 1986, when the Playhouse was due to celebrate its 75th anniversary as a cinema.
(1:17:22) Mrs Symmons talking about her work at the Playhouse for 60 years.
Film and Sound Archive access copy available onsite in the Audio-Visual Room
