Video Thursday: Blackfriar’s Bridge (1896)

The internet is a treasure trove of wonderful old videos featuring London and Britain as a subject. So, this is in an ongoing weekly video series (Video Thursdays) highlighting my latest find of the week.

I hope you enjoy them. To see the rest of the series, click here.

This week’s video is from 1896 and features street scenes from Blackfriar’s Bridge in London.

From the BFI Description:

The definition of ‘rush hour’ in London grows woollier as the years pass: at its worst it seems to stretch demonically from 6am to 9pm.

Journey back over a century to July 1896, though, and this tantalising half-minute of footage reveals our Victorian counterparts making their way to work across the Thames by tram, horse-drawn carriage and, for the health-conscious (or the poor), good old Shanks’ pony. More or less business as usual then, although compared to the daily human onslaught we face in 21st century London, the commuters caught by R.W. Paul’s static camera proceed at an enviably elegant pace.