In 1994, an unintentional revelation by workmen in Lancashire became known to many as the film equivalent of the Tutankhamen tomb discovery.
While rusty barrels in the basement of an empty shop may seem innocuous to many, these contained around 800 camera negatives, later identified by historian Peter Worden as the work of 20th-century filmmakers Sagar Mitchell (1866-1952) and James Kenyon (1850-1925). Offering a nostalgic window further into the past than ever before, these provided an invaluable record of sociocultural life in Edwardian Britain and redefined cinematic history.
The pair founded their filmmaking firm, Mitchell and Kenyon, in 1897. It ran until 1913 and was among the largest British film companies of the 1900s. By 1904, the trade press referred to them as one of the leading film makers in the country.
Mitchell and Kenyon are considered pioneers of filmmaking, capturing daily life and events to create some of the world’s first commercial motion pictures. Located in the industrial North of England, they provided locals the opportunity to see themselves on screen, operating under slogans like “See yourself as others see you” to encapsulate this ethos.
They produced a variety of content, including topicals, fiction, and their ‘fake’ war films. These were proto-'deep fakes' or fictionalised reconstructions of battles in prominent conflicts at the time including the Boxer Rebellion and the Boer War, filmed in the Blackburn countryside. You can view two examples on the BFI Player: Attack on a Mission Station and The Dispatch Bearer.
Most famously, their non-fiction output made up the bulk of their work. The pair were especially innovative, relying on natural light and 35mm cine cameras which were manoeuvrable for shooting scenes in public. This allowed them to capture the first known footage of Manchester United and the first football injury on camera, when an Irish player hit the goalpost in a 1906 match against Wales. Additionally, they can be credited for filming the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901, which was shown across the country.
Their short films blended skill, humour and humanity in their depiction of early 1900s life. In 1899, traveling showman George Green asked them to film workers leaving factories to be shown at the Easter fair, prompting a wider network of showmen to commission their films.
These became known as their ‘factory gate’ films and depicted both male and female workers. At the time of the 1901 census, almost a third of women were earning their own living in paid employment across England and Wales.
The motive behind these films was usually commercial, with the operator fitting as many people into the frame as possible. This was to increase audiences, who would pay to see themselves on screen. Scenes filmed during the day were shown on the same evening, solidifying their reputation for producing locally resonant content.
People would frequently dress up or adjust their attire for the cameras, aware that they were being filmed and could later watch themselves. Men were often in bowler hats and women in fancy garments. Children were eagerly depicted, capturing the excitement at having their ordinary lives caught on film.
When people lost interest in seeing local places and events reflected on screen, attention was redirected to escapist American cinema, leaving small firms unprofitable. The Mitchell and Kenyon partnership was dissolved in the early 1920s.
However, the discovery of their 800 negatives in the shop basement in Blackburn transformed Mitchell and Kenyon from obscure filmmakers to celebrated pioneers. These were acquired and restored by the British Film Institute in 2000, who went on to show the collection in over 100 shows across the UK, showcasing the pair’s contribution to filmmaking. The story was told in a 2005 documentary, The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon, now available on YouTube. In 2011, the collection became part of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, recognised as a vital record of Edwardian life.
You can watch some of Mitchell and Kenyon's factory gate films below - could your ancestors be filmed here?