They knew how to party in 1907

Aug 22 2007 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

THE only known footage of Liverpool’s 700th birthday celebrations has emerged as the city prepares to mark its 800th anniversary.

The rare film of the 1907 pageant offers a fascinating comparison with modern festivities as 1,500 people paraded around Wavertree Park to tell the story of Liverpool through the ages.

A section of the footage is available to view on the Daily Post website and shows people in various period costumes dancing and acting in an artistic performance.

Elaborate floats are carried along, depicting life from the neolithic time, through to the Birkenhead Priory monks and the signing of the King John’s Charter in 1207.

David Stoker, manager of Liverpool Record Office, said: “It is amazing to compare how celebrations were then and now.

“They really went to town. The preparation for such an event will have been vast, from building the floats to organising the performances.

“Schoolchildren performed on carriages depicting Liverpool through the centuries and there is a recreation of Liverpool Castle and a fight between the Molyneux family and the Stanley family.

“The head of history at Liverpool university, Ramsay Muir, had written a book to mark the 700th birthday and even dressed up as King John himself and records show it was considered a good performance.”

The film was found in Liverpool Record Office and staff wanted to bring it to the public attention to mark Liverpool’s 800th birthday.

The North West Film Archive (NWFA), based at Manchester Metropolitan University, helped the office care for the film and digitise it for modern viewing.

The film was made by a French company and is an unusual example of early film-making, as not much has survived from the era.

Marion Hewitt, service manager at NWFA, said: “It is remarkable it has survived and also unusual how long it is, there is about 20 minutes running time.

“Thousands of people appeared in this film and it will have prompted so many people to go and see it at the cinema in Liverpool – the films were not made for historic record, it was a huge commercial venture.

“It would probably have been shown within days of shooting and advertised so all those people at the pageant would want to see it.”

Leader of Liverpool City Council, Warren Bradley, said: “If you look at the 700th pageant the amount of community involvement is amazing.

“I hope that for the 800th birthday the community support is just as strong. It will be a superb legacy for our time if people look back when the city is 900 years old and marvel at our celebrations.

“This will be archived and I urge everyone to join in and take part.”

LOG on to www.liverpool dailypost.co.uk to see an excerpt from the film.

The footage is also available to purchase as part of a commemorative DVD, costing £9.99 at various shops and visitors attractions.

lizawilliams