Petticoat Lane (1903)

[kiarita5074]

jebane brytole he he wesniaki

[crewzaa]

The older and young guys always dragged on their lapels.And in these earlier images a lot of younger guys struck the pose,one arm on hip legs apart.,and in some of the images guys putting their thumbs to their noses at the Camera and shaking their finger was called tiddalin the wink.;)

[handal1973]

Oh my Gog!!! is this my grand pa ????

[olarcial]

Funny the way they look at the camera. They knew what it was. Most of these boys would die soon in The Great War. Many of them are certainly in those war graves in Commonwealth cemeteries in France.

[dajwilkinson]

The authenticity is somewhat offset by everyone acting up for the camera. Pretty much as people do now, of course!

[cjp240573]

Everyone is just in awe of the camera haha

[19bunnyhug68]

For fun, I waved at my computer screen and a fella raised his bottle to the camera and lauged. lol.

[COOLSAMMYJO]

not many women in this film

[menacinghat]

@COOLSAMMYJO

they all got kicked out for being lame

[cherrypietogo]

Yes you are right there has always been foreigners in the East End but not to the extent that there is today. Not to the extent that an Englishman/woman feels the foreigner when walking down the road or when they are on a bus hearing all the foreign languages around them, not to the extent that they are careful what they say otherwise they will be branded racist. By the way I do not think there is such a thing as ethnic English is there!!!

[milkwoman2000]

These clips are amazing but I was hoping to find one a bit more recent and with some audio. If anyone knows of a clip like that please send me a link, I need it by Wednesday at the latest and I've searched everywhere. D:

[caesarcerf]

it's stuff like this that truly makes internet sites like youtube worthwhile. not ripping off the Beatles by watching/listening for free, but this kind of stuff which i presume is in the public domain.

phenomenal quality and historical interest. Poster? I THANK you!

[kenns9]

Just think...all those men will be dead in 15yrs or so. :(

[menacinghat]

@kenns9

their probably all dead now to be honest. living over 100 is incredibly rare

[kenns9]

@menacinghat

true..if they survived the war!

[TheShittingbull]

grew up around the corner in old castle street,when the market was so busy i had to squeeze through people to get home from the beigal shop to my nans,such a beautiful film thank you.

[garibaldiamy]

It was still like this in the 1960s; full of life but lacking that wonderful racial diversity that our rulers kindly gave us. My family was from Whitechapel; doors were always open in summer; everyone know everyone else and there was REAL community not something dreamed up by smart suited politicians.

Of course there was plenty of ' argy ' in the pubs but rarely any hard crime as people had too much respect for each other. It breaks my heart to see what it has become.

[PhilsCinema]

there was a lady on a TV documentary and she read the lips of world war 1 soldiers,on old newsreels

[Satori19]

Anybody good at lip reading? What does the old geezer say at 1.50 - 1.55?

[19smokey19]

@Satori19 looks like he saying good morning, cant catch the rest . he must be in his 60s...

[bullseyegurl]

I love this! They all seem so... normal! Smiling, talking, laughing. And I wish men would still wear hats. I demand they make a fashionable comeback!! Although I notice a distinct lack of women out and about which makes me happy to live in the 21st century. I like being able to leave the house and still be unmarried at 19. :)

[Fifi48]

Magical.

What fascinates, and in some ways sadden, me about thiese marvelous films from the early part of the 1900s is that we know what was going to happen in the world afterwards, the terrible First world War - how many of the young boys in the films went to the trenches, the technological leaps. What would they have thought of men landing on the moon, air travel, TVs? What on earth would they have thought the luxury gadgets we consider vital; mobile phone and computers. And medicine/NHS.

[rubysson57]

Funny how you miss out the biggest shame of all: How their country looks today with its racial and cultural makeovers. Its once beautifully kept cities inhabited by foreigners and third world  immigrants. How many would have gone to the trenches in the first place if they had known how they were going to be betrayed - not only betrayed but betrayed by the ideological children of the cowards who refused to fight in the first place; but now seem to be reaping the benefit of rule.

[fishhead06]

@rubysson57 I don't think racial monoculture is that interesting.

[jigen08]

@fishhead06: "Racial monoculture"...That's what you take from this? Place a camera on one road in the Jewish neighborhood of a city over a hundred years ago when people were born, lived, worked and died often without setting foot outside their neighborhood...

Watch it again without applying your modern boorish politically-correct judgement.

You'd doubtless dismiss century-old footage of the Himba tribe or the people of Warsaw, or a Japanese fishing village as "racial monoculture".

[jigen08]

@rubysson: "Racial monoculture"...That's what you take from this? Place a camera on one road in the Jewish neighborhood of a city over a hundred years ago when people were born, lived, worked and died often without setting foot outside their neighborhood...

Watch it again without applying your modern boorish politically-correct judgement.

You'd doubtless dismiss century-old footage of the Himba tribe or the people of Warsaw, or a Japanese fishing village as "racial monoculture".

[cherrypietogo]

@rubysson57 Well said my sentiments exactly.

[JAMamation]

When they wave their hats and smile at the camera, i have the urge to wave back nd smile at them. Such amazing footage of some great scenes. Really gives us an insight into the lives of people back then. Its hard to imagine tht every single person in this video is now dead. The images of these nameless people will go on forever in time, even after we are gone, this video should be up. Maybe in 100 years people still may be commenting on this video? Who knows what the future will think of us too?

[JAMamation]

Fascinating footage you have here :)

[ogicabp4u]

that kid must be at least 115 years old by now...in 2110 we will be watching youtube footage renditioned in holographic 3D on a holodeck...

'Oh.. look at that Aunt Hilda..they've manged to redition old footage from way back in 2020 in Hard Light Holographic 3D... gosh these apples taste just like they used to whee I was a kid..it's amazing what they can do nowadays...I remember when I was young being on the earth where all we had was internet and mobile phones..you kids today have it so easy!'

[ubreakinmepatlisa]

01:43: Feel this cloff, gents. That's a lavaly bitta schmutter.

[ubreakinmepatlisa]

That's what's wrong with the modern world: There's not enough lapel-holding.

Also, 01:15, toff decides to push the riff-raff aside, and the riff-raff, knowing their place, acquiesce.

[edwards21416]

beautiful! transport me back anyday,no burkas, no arab masters, clean streets no hoody's and dirty looks people that look the same home safe and sound a city of opportunity, beautiful girls, no kebab shops and curry houses i hate what we have become a dumping ground  and a sell out to every forienger that wants a piece of old britian, still believe we are a first rate country how sad is that! i dread to think where we are heading every goverment we have is suffering from empire guilt but not me

[LokiV]

@edwards21416 100 years ago-A male child born in 1903 had a life expectancy of 49 years, while a female had a life expectancy of 51 years.

Great video!! but the good old days are not as good as people think.

[Viprax]

@LokiV overpopulation is one of our most serious problems already, who's to say they did not live a greater 50 than we might 150.

[dasdasdus]

@edwards21416

streets were a bit even dirtier back then because of the horse poop

[edwards21416]

beautiful! transport me back anyday,no burkas, no arab masters, clean streets no hoody's and dirty looks people that look the same home safe and sound a city of opportunity beaufiful girls, no kebab shops and curry houses i hate what we have become a dumping ground  and a sell out to every forienger that wants a piece of old britian, still believe we are a first rate country how sad is that! i dread to think where we are heading every goverment we have is suffering from empire guilt but not me

[Woodlander65]

@edwards21416 Yes, well said, even the poor looked like they had pride in themselves compared with the scum today. Yes, i could quite happily go back to that time even if i only had a bit of bread and tea to live on daily, at least we would still have had our liberty and innocence.

[19smokey19]

at the front row at 112 whats the guy waving in his hand..

[huggy3ear]

they do like a hat

[coolcoolcoolest]

wouldn't it be cool, if say. The cameraman was recoding the daily life when people like write on a piece of paper questions to the future people (us) asking all kinds of questions. I think that would be really cool, but too bad noting like that has happen in every film i've seem :(

[mickeymoo26]

I love it everyone if you notices looks at each other and interacts. People don't lookat other peoples faces really anymore

[BSsex]

Ahh damn, my ONLY Dream is to go back in time there with lady gaga and sing Pokerface to them!!! And film their reactions!! LoL. Does anyone else want to join me?

[mickeymoo26]

@BSsex me, that'd be so mad. they'd be like "Lock that whore up"

A) she would be like arrested as soon as she walked outside.

[benisnowsober]

more than a hundred years from then, what a different world.. "Good day Sir"

[ogicabp4u]

@benisnowsober

1900 - "Good day sir!"

2000 - "Wot u lookin at?"

[NTL2000]

I can't find anyone without a hat .. :)

[edwards21416]

great like the two kids making the most of the camera at the end.

[AnitaAndDavis]

Gosh this is amazing! I am researching the death of my grandfather who was a vendor on Petticoat Lane in 1903 and it is amazing that he might actually be in this film. Thank you for posting it. He was killed by a kart that ran him over.

[fleming1972]

They keep staring like they haven't seen a movie camera before.

Oh wait......

[ilove1994]

For them it was new some of them already  knew what it was.

[JeannettieP]

It is so weird to see every single person young and old are all dressed up all the time.

[ilove1994]

Humm well back then up until the 1960s suits & dresses where normal everyday where for clothes its not that they did not have a choice it is because wen Victoria came to power in 1837 they confirmed her style & let it in with fashion but suits & dresses go back to George Washington's times but the style you see here came from Victoria & was past down to Edward by 1901 & in the 60s men stopped wherein suits everyday because they got Bord of them.

[impbr]

To be seen bare-headed in public was an offence in those days, although certain recidivists openly taunted the police, as can be seen in this film. The term 'off your bonce' ie 'your hat is not on your head' became common parlance for crazy behaviour around this time.

[impbr]

The quality of tailoring in those days was so poor that many men held onto their lapels for fear of them falling off.

[blank404]

"My word! What is that amazing machine you are holding?"

[pigcanfly007]

Where were all the women?

[blank404]

In the kitchen, of course. I'm only kidding.:-p

[amarone1956]

How many of them would be dead by 1918?

[staypress]

all of em and then there was room for the dirty shit that inhabits the east end now

[rosrychaplet]

Loved it. Too bad no music was added.

[84anubis]

hehehe good coment :D

[staypress]

look near the end that is einstein with a tape round his neck before he took up science

[adamlinks]

Out of space and time !!! Hello!

[terrificly]

My dad used to take me down Petticoat Lane on Sunday mornings in the 1950's, very exciting because everywhere else was closed! At that time you'd see puppies and kittens for sale kept in cages, no health and safety in those days.

[xwsftassell]

Strange. There's a distinct lack of fake Burberry.

[rbaynton]

Anyone know what 'soda milk' was / is? - see at 24 seconds

[mishelly38]

Maybe ice cream soda was called that way back then to Londoners.

[59acres]

that lapel holding has gone out of fashion

[59acres]

Think I saw Sherlock there for a second

[dubldeka]

Most look into the future with great suspicion

Glints of annoyance at this strange new form of soul stealing

Others, more in the know

try to steal the show

Vendors once aware

Take the chance to sell their fare

Compulsory hats are raised with glee

to greet the folk they'll never see

[stellalouise1]

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have sound with this? I would love to hear the barkers and all the bantering that seems to be going on.  Fantastic film - amazing! Thanks for posting such a treasure.

[smuckerlingos]

the young boys in about 12 years would have been old enough to enlist in the army for the world war....

[scubanecky]

more like ww1

[SuzieLady]

So strange looking at these people that are now all dead probably and the curiosity toward the camera..did you see the man near the end, throwing up his notes of money? and also..whats with the hats?! EVERYONE wore a hat in them times and looks like the same style..brilliant filming

[VlogasaurusFlex]

I bet they were really not much different then us. I think we'd be surprised.

[andyb2707]

It is so fascinating to me now, from today's vantage, to be looking back at people shocked and surprised to be filmed by a camera when it was all brand new...when you think about how far we have come in really a very brief time in history.

[RebelVoDKa]

You seem to have been red-thumbed out of existence, but what you wrote went through my head within the first few seconds of watching this.

[horsesflu]

Youtube works in mysterious ways.

I thought it was strange to see the dead walking and interacting with one another when I said

OMG THEYRE ALL DEAD U GUISE!!

[RebelVoDKa]

Staring into the faces of people from 106 years ago, while they appear to stare back.

Amazing!

[nimrod379]

Incredible... that you so much for sharing this!

[LadyJML]

I love these old-fashioned street scenes, they're absolutely fascinating.

[catgumart]

1:51 "Top of the morning to you!"

[catgumart]

Could a person walk around this area and still recognize some of the buildings?

[SuzieLady]

Yes, indeed you can ;) London has kept a lot of its old buildings and they are protected by law

[catgumart]

Wow cool! I think to myself " Could any of them feel at that moment an energy or a knowing that their image would be observed by so many people far into the future...who knows how many people will see this image in 1000 years? What will it be like for someone in say 10000 years to look at an image of someone from this era? I don't think it will be as exciting to see someone on film from 2003 to someone in 2103 as it is for us to see these people in 1906..Thanks for the reply!

[ogicabp4u]

@catgumart 10,000 years from now it will be the same feeling as looking at a cave painting to us. Because by then we will have something much better than 3d holodecks in hard light with all sights smells and sounds and neurotransmission of human feelings and emotion. Video, even 3D HD will seem as primative to them as cave paintings to us. "Wow they look so suprised when they meet and interact with the digital hologrphic hard light projection of their Great Grandfather" DUH!!! etc, etc...

[beguilingeyes]

@catgumart a lot of this area was really badly bombed in the 2nd World War, but there are still some streets that look exactly like this...one of my favourite parts of London.

[tmj9815]

Amazing vid! Thank you BFI Films. Any more Manchester scenes?

[BFIfilms]

Hi - there are a number of early films featuring Manchester on this channel including:

Manchester Street Scene (1901),

Manchester Band of Hope Procession (1901),

Torpedo Flotilla Visit to Manchester (1901),

Lord Roberts' Visit to Manchester (1901),

Burnley v Manchester United (1902) - but filmed in Burnley...

There are also several other titles that relate to Manchester and the surrounding area.

[cherrypietogo]

@tmj9815 A lovely seen of the old east end of London the way it used to be and still should be instead it is full of foreigners and third world immigrants. What would their response have been when called to arms if they knew what the future held for their future generations. In both WW1 and WW2 they fought to stop invasion from another country but when we closed the front door we unfortunately left the back door open and now we are being invaded by these foreigners and immigrants. What a Shame.

[chanctonbury63]

@cherrypietogo The East End always been full of foreigners. It has always been a melting pot. Just because the faces are white doesnt mean that they are all in some way `ethnic` English.

[Edgey1988]

@chanctonbury63 It hasn't ''always'' been a ''melting pot'' at all you gobshite. The only significant ethnic minorities in the east end or anywhere in Britain prior to WW2 were Jews and Irish people.

[chanctonbury63]

@Edgey1988 The place was full of Germans, Italians, Spaniards, French and many others. And while Im here try washing your mouth out with bleach. Anybody can spout filth on the internet you inadequate little toughguy fuck. Easy see. 

[Edgey1988]

@chanctonbury63 ''Full of them''? Where have you got that information from? Were there ever any English people in the east end?

[chanctonbury63]

@Edgey1988 Chinese and Russian too. Pick up a book sometime.

[spelqueka]

@Edgey1988

Haven't you ever heard of the Hugonoets then?

[Edgey1988]

@spelqueka Oh yeah cos the hugonoets came in massive numbers didn't they!!?

40,000 came in total and a lot of them were only here temporarily, at a time when the population was about 8 million. Unless the hugonoets were all nymphomaniacs then I can't see how they had significant impact on the population.

[spelqueka]

@Edgey1988

It was 50,000 actually! Don't forget Africans were forced to come here against their will in the 17th and 18th centuries! Oh, and there were never such things as Romans, Saxons, Normans or Vikings were there? Don't get me wrong, I am against opening the gates and letting the whole world in, but you can't pretend it is a new thing!

[lapislazuli7]

@cherrypietogo So you do not believe that everybody has the right to choose where to live?

[cherrypietogo]

@lapislazuli7 No I don't not when it affects the lives of the people (natives) of that Country. The English people are now unfortunately paying the price for the actions of the past. Enoch Powell was 100% right if only people had listened to him. Both my father and grand father fought in a war believing that if they did'nt then this country would be invaded. We slammed England's front door in the face of our foe in both wars but unfortunately after the last war someone left the back door open.

[lapislazuli7]

@cherrypietogo I am sure the English people have always asked politely before invading a country not only to live there but to rule over others. I cannot see why it is wrong to settle down in a different country when you come in peace. Why is your freedom more important than other people's?

[cherrypietogo]

@lapislazuli7 No like most invaders we did not ask politely before invading. Whatever country we invaded it was for financial gain for the rich and now we are paying for it. You cannot mix cultures it does not work. We have a standard in England which the eastern population would not understand nor do they wish to embrace. They have disgusting habits and different views on women. The majority of foreigners do want to embrace our culture but stick with their own. When in Rome is what I say.

[fiynsais]

Great vid, if only it was still like that.....thanks for sharing

[applecounty]

To a point I agree, but I suspect these people had a really hard existance even by today's job impovrished working class standards. I like the chap raising his bowler at 1:52, and the chap in the stetson (?) at 2.07.

[azulo65]

Some mighty cool hats! :)

[LokiV]

Thanks for posting :)... very few ladys about kinda odd!!

[MadHobbit]

because most were tied to the house or at work, little freedom back then for woman.

[terryvision42]

It's funny how some of the men hold the lapels stop it at 0:46 and check it out.

[minutegongcoughs]

The Lane had the earliest advertising for American Levi's. They were stenciled to the higher brick buildings. That would be many years before this footage.

[minutegongcoughs]

Tx for sharing.

[xyzllii]

My favourite place on Sundays...when I lived in Aberavon Rd....Mile End...E3

[84anubis]

Every one has something on the head

[MissMinnieMousegirl]

EVERYBODY is wearing a hat!! oh the hatness!!

[hartnell114]

theyre watching us and we are watching them, creepy

[Saraculture13]

And just think all those guys are probably dead, which is even more creepy. Nevertheless a great piece of history!

[c0al]

very nice

[CelticReject]

1:10 Happy Man shakes his shiny new iPhone.