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Yarmouth Fishing Boats Leaving Harbour

A lively Victorian harbour scene, destined for a royal viewing

Non-Fiction 1896 1 mins Silent

Overview

This attractive Victorian film records fishing boats in the Norfolk harbour of Yarmouth at the end of the 19th Century. The fragmentary nature of the film - interrupted by jarring cuts and marred by early damage to the print - only serve to make it all the more enigmatic and intriguing.

This was one of the 21 subjects presented by Birt Acres to the royal family on 21st July 1896, the day before the marriage of Princess Maud to Prince Charles of Denmark, at one of the very first royal film performances. His audience was sufficiently entertained that Acres was invited to return the next day to film the wedding itself.