Free

Edwardian Sports

The birth of Match of the Day? Not exactly, but Mitchell and Kenyon were pioneers in filming sporting events.

Sport was a booming industry in the early 20th Century, and one undergoing great changes. Covered stadiums emerged in place of banks of mud, while audiences - overwhelmingly male - grew to fill them, on the back of increasing leisure time. The presence of film cameras may have helped fuel sport's increasing professionalism. Over 60 different sporting events feature in the Mitchell and Kenyon collection, mostly football and rugby, but also athletics, cricket, cycling, horse racing and rowing. Highlights include the earliest known footage of Manchester United and the first Merseyside derby on film, plus a cricketing controversy and glimpses of early Rugby League. Mitchell and Kenyon weren't historians - their interest was to film as much of the crowd as possible, to draw paying customers to later screenings. But thanks to them, we're left with a priceless and evocative record of sport's emergence as the mass entertainment we know today. Digitisation of this collection was funded by The National Lottery.

Read more Close
Watch for free

Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers (1902)Hull F.C. v Hull Kingston Rovers (1902)

Non-Fiction19024 minsSilent Location: Kingston upon Hull

Rugby arch rivals lock horns in Hull.

Watch for free

Leeds Lifeboat Procession and Sports at Roundhay Park (1902)Leeds Lifeboat Procession and Sports at Roundhay Park (1902)

Non-Fiction190119 minsSilent Location: Leeds

Jolly japes and jumping in the lake - it's the water carnival in Leeds on Lifeboat Day.

Watch for free

Leeds Athletic and Cycling Club Carnival at Headingley (1902)Leeds Athletic and Cycling Club Carnival at Headingley (1902)

Non-Fiction19027 minsSilent Location: Headingley

Athletes and acrobats wow the crowds at the annual Cycling Club carnival.

Watch for free

Great Local Derby, Accrington v Church Cricket Match (1902)Great Local Derby, Accrington v Church Cricket Match (1902)

Non-Fiction19025 minsSilent Location: Accrington

Rare film record of an Edwardian local league cricket game between two Lancashire sides.

Watch for free

Arthur Mold Bowling to A.N. Hornby (1901)Arthur Mold Bowling to A.N. Hornby (1901)

Non-Fiction19019 minsSilent Location: Old Trafford Cricket Ground

Did he bowl or did he throw? A fascinating record of an early cricketing controversy.

Watch for free

Champion Athletes at Birmingham (1902)Champion Athletes at Birmingham (1902)

Non-Fiction190212 minsSilent Location: Birmingham

Crowds enjoying the spectacle at Birmingham Athletics Club.

Watch for free

Burnley v Manchester United (1902)Burnley v Manchester United (1902)

Non-Fiction19022 minsSilent Location: Burnley

First-ever footage of Manchester United in a tense Edwardian football fixture.

Watch for free

Calisthenics (c.1905)Calisthenics (c.1905)

Non-Fiction19007 minsSilent

A truly impressive exhibition of calisthenics from two teams of girls - perhaps an early talent contest?

Watch for free

Final of International Cup at Cork Regatta (1902)Final of International Cup at Cork Regatta (1902)

Non-Fiction19002 minsSilent

Scenes from the summer final between the Leander and Berlin rowing clubs.

Watch for free

Race for the Muratti Cup at Manchester Wheelers' Annual Meet (1901)Race for the Muratti Cup at Manchester Wheelers' Annual Meet (1901)

Non-Fiction190115 minsSilent Location: Manchester

Exciting scenes of amateur cycling's 'Race of Champions' at Manchester's Fallowfield track.

Watch for free

Everton v Liverpool (1902)Everton v Liverpool (1902)

Non-Fiction19025 minsSilent Location: Liverpool

The earliest surviving Merseyside derby on film catches two of Everton's goals in a 3-1 home win.

Watch for free

AAA Championships at Fartown, Huddersfield (1901)AAA Championships at Fartown, Huddersfield (1901)

Non-Fiction19014 minsSilent Location: Fartown Ground, Huddersfield

The annual championship meeting of England's premier athletics association.

Watch for free

Dewsbury v Manningham (1901)Dewsbury v Manningham (1901)

Non-Fiction19015 minsSilent Location: Dewsbury

Rare film of Manningham FC's days as a rugby club, in a hard-fought contest at Dewsbury's Crown Flatt ground.

Watch for free

Ambush II at Eyrefield Lodge, The Curragh (1902)Ambush II at Eyrefield Lodge, The Curragh (1902)

Non-Fiction19024 minsSilent

The 1900 Grand National winner at home with his trainer in County Kildare

Watch for free

Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield United (1907)Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield United (1907)

Non-Fiction19072 minsSilent Location: Ewood Park, Blackburn

An Edwardian First Division football match played at Blackburn's Ewood Park Stadium.

Watch for free

Blackburn v... (1904)Blackburn v... (1904)

Non-Fiction19040 minsSilent Location: Ewood Park, Blackburn

Blackburn Rovers play at home at Ewood Park to an unidentified team in an Edwardian football fixture.

Watch for free

Bolton v Burton United (c.1904)Bolton v Burton United (c.1904)

Non-Fiction19042 minsSilent Location: Burnden Park, Bolton

Bolton Wanderers overpower the shortlived Burton United at Burnden Park under rainy skies.

Watch for free

Bradford City v Gainsborough Trinity (1903)Bradford City v Gainsborough Trinity (1903)

Non-Fiction19039 minsSilent Location: Valley Parade, Bradford

Bradford City's first ever home league game after switching from rugby to football in 1903.

Watch for free

Cambridge University Sportsday (1903)Cambridge University Sportsday (1903)

Non-Fiction19033 minsSilent Location: Cambridge

Cambridge undergrads reach new heights!

Watch for free

Crews Practising on River Lee at Cork Regatta (1902)Crews Practising on River Lee at Cork Regatta (1902)

Non-Fiction19021 minsSilent

Edwardian oarsmen get some last minute practice in before the big race.

Watch for free

England v Ireland at Manchester (1905)England v Ireland at Manchester (1905)

Non-Fiction19052 minsSilent Location: Manchester

An Edwardian contest between teams representing the English and Irish Football Leagues, with plenty of goal-line action.

Watch for free

Everton v Newcastle United (1902)Everton v Newcastle United (1902)

Non-Fiction19028 minsSilent Location: Liverpool

The camera is a welcome distraction to the spectators of a home defeat at Goodison Park.

Watch for free

Everton v Newcastle United (1903)Everton v Newcastle United (1903)

Non-Fiction19033 minsSilent Location: Liverpool

None of the goals but plenty of action in a 4-1 home win to Everton.

Watch for free

Halifax v Salford (1901)Halifax v Salford (1901)

Non-Fiction19013 minsSilent Location: Halifax

A rugby league game shows the sport in transition, on a bitterly cold day.

Watch for free

Hull City Football (c.1905)Hull City Football (c.1905)

Non-Fiction19053 minsSilent Location: Kingston upon Hull

Hull City football club plays a friendly match in their inaugural season.

Watch for free

Hull F.C. v Wigan (1902)Hull F.C. v Wigan (1902)

Non-Fiction19022 minsSilent Location: Kingston upon Hull

A misty afternoon's rugby match draws a large crowd.

Watch for free

Hunslet v Leeds (1901)Hunslet v Leeds (1901)

Non-Fiction19014 minsSilent Location: Hunslet

A less-than-serious Leeds team take a four-goals-and-two-tries battering from Hunslet.

Watch for free

Moss Street v St Philips Football (1907)Moss Street v St Philips Football (1907)

Non-Fiction19072 minsSilent Location: Blackburn

Schoolboy footballers fight it out at Ewood Park.

Watch for free

Manchester Races (1902)Manchester Races (1902)

Non-Fiction19023 minsSilent Location: Manchester

Spectators enjoy a day at the races in Edwardian Manchester.

Watch for free

Northern Union Challenge Cup Final - Halifax v Salford (1903)Northern Union Challenge Cup Final - Halifax v Salford (1903)

Non-Fiction19032 minsSilent Location: Leeds

An Edwardian Rugby League final pits Lancashire against Yorkshire.

Watch for free

Kingston Rowing Club at Practice (1902)Kingston Rowing Club at Practice (1902)

Non-Fiction19024 minsSilent Location: Stoneferry

A delightful day out on the water as Edwardian rowers mess about on the River Hull.

Watch for free

Liverpool v Small Heath (1901)Liverpool v Small Heath (1901)

Non-Fiction19011 minsSilent Location: Liverpool

Early league football, with the team who will become Birmingham City losing at Anfield in a relegation year.

Watch for free

Manchester to Blackpool Road Race (1903)Manchester to Blackpool Road Race (1903)

Non-Fiction19032 minsSilent Location: Blackpool

Over a hundred Edwardian athletes gather for a gruelling walking race.

Watch for free

Newcastle United v Liverpool (1901)Newcastle United v Liverpool (1901)

Non-Fiction19017 minsSilent Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

An Edwardian football match at Newcastle's St James' Park ground.

Watch for free

Notts County v Middlesbrough (1902)Notts County v Middlesbrough (1902)

Non-Fiction19027 minsSilent Location: Nottingham

The game is held up for the camera to do a full tour of the cheering crowds at Trent Bridge, Notts County's home until 1910.

Watch for free

Oldham v Swinton (1901)Oldham v Swinton (1901)

Non-Fiction19013 minsSilent Location: Oldham

The evolution of Rugby League in a top of the table match between rival Lancashire clubs.

Watch for free

Preston North End v Aston Villa (1905)Preston North End v Aston Villa (1905)

Non-Fiction19052 minsSilent Location: Preston

Early football giants Preston and Villa face up in an epic Edwardian contest.

Watch for free

Preston North End v Notts County (1904)Preston North End v Notts County (1904)

Non-Fiction19052 minsSilent Location: Preston

Preston triumph at Deepdale in an Edwardian contest between two of England's oldest football teams.

Watch for free

Preston North End v Wolverhampton Wanderers (1904)Preston North End v Wolverhampton Wanderers (1904)

Non-Fiction19045 minsSilent Location: Preston

The Lillywhites take on the Wolves at Deepdale, watched by a large crowd and the club mascot.

Watch for free

Rotherham Town v Thornhill (1902)Rotherham Town v Thornhill (1902)

Non-Fiction19022 minsSilent Location: Rotherham

A ropey pitch and worse goalkeeping in a typical non-league football derby in Edwardian Yorkshire.

Watch for free

Runcorn v St Helens (1901)Runcorn v St Helens (1901)

Non-Fiction19012 minsSilent Location: Runcorn

Runcorn, Lancashire Senior Competition winners in 1900 and third in 1901, face a fierce challenge from visiting St Helens.

Watch for free

Salford v Batley (1901)Salford v Batley (1901)

Non-Fiction19018 minsSilent Location: Salford

Batley go down to Lancashire rivals Salford in the very first season of the Northern Rugby League.

Watch for free

Sheffield United v Bury (1902)Sheffield United v Bury (1902)

Non-Fiction19022 minsSilent Location: Sheffield

Sparkling images of fans and players at an Edwardian fixture at Sheffield's Bramall Lane.

Watch for free

Sports Day at Queen's College Ground, Cork (1902)Sports Day at Queen's College Ground, Cork (1902)

Non-Fiction19022 minsSilent

Crowds gather on a sunny Saturday to watch sports including running, jumping and cycling.

Watch for free

St Helens v Swinton (1901)St Helens v Swinton (1901)

Non-Fiction19011 minsSilent Location: St Helens

The crowds at Knowsley Road await a Rugby league match between the Saints and the Lions.

Watch for free

Sunderland v Leicester Fosse (1907)Sunderland v Leicester Fosse (1907)

Non-Fiction19077 minsSilent Location: Sunderland

A resounding win for Sunderland in the FA Cup, urged on by an enthusiastic band.

Watch for free

Sunderland v Middlesbrough (1904)Sunderland v Middlesbrough (1904)

Non-Fiction19041 minsSilent Location: Sunderland

A hard-fought North East derby in the Edwardian First Division.

Watch for free

Trotting Match at Springfield Park, Wigan (1904)Trotting Match at Springfield Park, Wigan (1904)

Non-Fiction19047 minsSilent Location: Springfield Park

Edwardian spectators and bookies enjoy an exciting day of horse racing.

Watch for free

Two-Oared Boat Race, Sunday's Well, Cork (1902)Two-Oared Boat Race, Sunday's Well, Cork (1902)

Non-Fiction19021 minsSilent

Oarsmen compete along the River Lee in early 20th century Cork.

Watch for free

Wales v Ireland at Wrexham (1906)Wales v Ireland at Wrexham (1906)

Non-Fiction19063 minsSilent Location: Wrexham/Wrecsam

International football action in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Wrexham.

Watch for free

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa (1904)Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa (1904)

Non-Fiction19042 minsSilent Location: Ewood Park, Blackburn

The entry of the teams and action from both halves of an Edwardian football game at Ewood Park.

Watch for free

Warrington v St. Helens (1901)Warrington v St. Helens (1901)

Non-Fiction19012 minsSilent Location: Warrington

Match action and scenes of an Edwardian rugby crowd at Warrington's Wilderspool stadium.

Watch for free

Water Polo Match (c.1901)Water Polo Match (c.1901)

Non-Fiction19011 minsSilent

A team demonstrate their skills in the increasingly popular sport of water polo.

Watch for free

Burnley Football (1903)Burnley Football (1903)

Non-Fiction19032 minsSilent Location: Turf Moor

A large and lively crowd watches an Edwardian Second Division football match at Burnley's Turf Moor ground.

Watch for free

Bolton Football 2 (c.1900)Bolton Football 2 (c.1900)

Non-Fiction19001 minsSilent Location: Burnden Park, Bolton

Spectral images of a football match at Bolton's Burnden Park.