Hoxton... Saturday July 3rd, Britannia Theatre

1920 | 2 mins (extract)

Clearly some celebratory event was taking place on July 3rd 1920 in Hoxton, but there are no details of who made this film or why. We see a view of the Britannia Theatre, the most famous of all the East End music halls, from across Hoxton Street, Shoreditch. The streets are crowded with a typical audience for the Britannia, including a group of small boys waiting in line outside the theatre.

A variety of vehicles passes by, including a Midland Railway Company delivery cart going past the Town Hall, and a mixture of motor and horse-drawn vehicles. The camera then tracks down Old Street, passing Charles Square. Look out for The London Apprentice, later to become one of London's most famous gay bars and a key location for Neill Jordan's film The Crying Game from 1992. These street scenes will be immediately recognisable to anyone who knows Hoxton; it looks pretty much the same today.