Pageants 98
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Sir Walter Scott Centenary
There were so many events taking place in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Scott that it is not surprising that most passed without much fanfare. However, this part... -
Warwickshire Coronation Pageant
The Coronation of Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 heralded a ‘new Elizabethan Age’, evidenced by the music of Benjamin Britten (whose opera Gloriana was unfortunately a failure), the photography of Cec... -
Battle Abbey Pageant
Pageants were often promoted as a means of boosting the status of the place in which they were held, acting as an advertisement of a town, city, or a region. Unfortunately, pageants were often resp... -
Staffordshire Women’s Institute Pageant
Women’s Institute pageants were highly popular during the 1920s and early 1930s, and county pageants were also greatly successful: The following pageants were held: Norfolk (1926)Oxfordshire (1926)... -
Farnham Pageant 1988
After the first Farnham Pageant (1910), Dr Ealand (who had played Henry de Blois) suggested that ‘in the year 2010, when Farnham had the pluck to again put Historical Episodes before the people—and... -
A Pageant of the History of Cowick Barton
The impetus for the pageant had come from Mrs C.A. Simmons, who lived in the Cowick Barton Priory. She had brought in Beatrix Cresswell, who had been the historical consultant for the Torquay Pagea... -
St Catherine’s School Centenary Pageant: A Vivid Tapestry of 2000 Years of Women in History
St Catherine’s is a fee-paying school in Surrey with approximately 880 pupils, of which 170 board.1 The pageant was organised by David Clarke, who was a prominent pageant master in Surrey (see Shal... -
The Pageant of London
The Pageant of London was the main attraction of the Festival of Empire at Crystal Palace in 1911. Undoubtedly the largest and most ambitious pageant of the Edwardian period, if not the whole twent... -
Wimbledon Park Pageant and Fair
Pageants in the suburbs of London were popular during the 1920s and 1930s. If interwar London was to be defined by its suburbs, made famous as John Betjeman’s ‘Metroland’, pageants themselves were ... -
The Three Towns Pageants
The Festival of Britain 1951 was the key cultural event of the period.3 Nationwide, a programme of events was skilfully planned with the aim of embracing modernist influences on British culture whi... -
Ilford Children’s Pageant
Children’s pageants proved popular fixtures during the twentieth century, for instance in Stepney (1909), Kirkcaldy (1911), Windsor (1911), Berkhamsted (1922), and Leeds (1926). Many smaller-scale ... -
Kingston Grammar School Sexcentenary Pageant
From the outset, historical pageants were popular with schools; this is an example from the Edwardian period. In 1909, Kingston Grammar School celebrated its six hundredth anniversary, and it seems... -
Mitcham Pageant
This is an early example of an historical pageant held to celebrate a coronation, in this case that of George V in 1911. The years before the First World War saw great enthusiasm for all things Eli... -
Berkhamsted Pageant Play, 1922
Berkhamsted pageant play was performed four times from Wednesday 5 to Saturday 8 July 1922.3 The week was beset with poor weather, with rain interrupting every performance except one.4 A souvenir b... -
The Queens of England Pageant
In 1946 a pageant had been staged in the grounds of the vicarage at South Benfleet in Essex, and another – depicting different episodes – was put on during a garden party to celebrate the Coronatio... -
The Chelsea Historical Pageant
Performed in 1908, the Chelsea Pageant was part of the initial wave of ‘pageantitis’, and notably the first pageant to be staged within the capital. ‘Little Chelsea’, declared The Times, was ‘going... -
Pageant of Dudley, 1908
The Dudley Pageant, held at the height of ‘Pageant Fever’ in 1908, was conceived around the same time as major pageants in Dover, Bath, and Bury St Edmunds.2 However, compared to others of the time... -
Guildford Pageant Play
Historical pageants sought to be remembered long after they had ended and to have a lingering impact in the towns and communities where they were held. The Warwick Pageant (1906) opened a Pageant H... -
Pageant of Hampshire History
Women’s Institute Pageants were highly popular during the 1920s and early 1930s, and county pageants were also greatly successful (see entries for the pageants of Staffordshire 1928 and Northampton... -
Pageant of Farnham
The Pageant of Farnham was the first of many pageants devised by Neville Lovett (the future Bishop of Salisbury and Portsmouth). It was held to repay some of the debts on the Church House (now Vine...