London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
This film is part of Free
Davis Family Films: Second Clacton Film, Clacton (1963)
From sunbathing on the East London estate balcony to swimming in the sea at Clacton, this home movie records family life in London in 1963.
From the collection of:
Overview
Beginning with footage of a woman smoking on an estate balcony, this home movie records the movements of the Davis family in 1963. The Davis’s would move to Stanhope Gardens, where these films were discovered by a man who moved into the house after them. This film’s highlight is of the mother sunbathing on the estate balcony, and includes scenes from a local park, several shots of central London, including landmarks and traffic, and the family holiday in Clacton.
Among the London landmarks captured on film are Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, National Gallery, London Coliseum, Waterloo Bridge, River Thames, Cenotaph, Edith Cavell’s statue, the Embankment and Cleopatra’s Needle. Scenes from Clacton include sandcastle making, kite flying and lounging in deckchairs outside the mobile home. Bruce Castle Museum
Related
Davis Family Films: Second Film Of Stanhope Gardens; Lord Mayor’s Show, Haringey and City (1966) Davis Family Films: Second Film Of Stanhope Gardens; Lord Mayor’s Show, Haringey and City (1966)
Amateur film 1966 6 mins Silent Location: Harringay
James Bond, Graham Hill, Winston Churchill and St Paul’s Cathedral all feature in this brilliant home movie from the Davis Family Film collection.
Davis Family Films: Diana's Communion And Snow Scenes, London (1963) Davis Family Films: Diana's Communion And Snow Scenes, London (1963)
Amateur film 1963 5 mins Silent Location: Strand
Iced fountains at Trafalgar and a steeplejack up Nelson’s Column are among the highlights of this fascinating, eclectic home movie from 1963.
Dickens' London Dickens' London
1924 12 mins Location: Strand
Part of Wonderful London, the BFI National Archive’s programme of restored London travelogues, filmed in the capital in the 1920s.
London off the Track London off the Track
1924 10 mins Location: Belgravia
Part of Wonderful London, the BFI National Archive’s programme of restored London travelogues, filmed in the capital in the 1920s.
London Old and New London Old and New
1924 10 mins Location: Strand
Part of Wonderful London, the BFI National Archive’s programme of restored London travelogues, filmed in the capital in the 1920s.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Blades Blades
Drama 2023 2 mins
A group of young Black boys run into a building. One of them is about to do the unimaginable.
We Collide We Collide
Romance 2023 2 mins
A queercore romance - a visceral and immersive exploration of the power of the mosh pit and finding love in the most unlikely of places.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.