Made by Eddie Percy of Settle, this film is a record of the celebrations Settle put on to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II.  The celebrations include a fancy dress parade through town as well as an Elizabethan Fayre held in the market place. Title – A Record of Rural Events to commemorate the Coronation of Elizabeth II June 2nd 1953 Title – Photography Eddie Percy Title – Upper Settle Celebrations A brass band leads a procession.  They are followed by a float of children in fancy...

Made by Eddie Percy of Settle, this film is a record of the celebrations Settle put on to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II.  The celebrations include a fancy dress parade through town as well as an Elizabethan Fayre held in the market place. Title – A Record of Rural Events to commemorate the Coronation of Elizabeth II June 2nd 1953 Title – Photography Eddie Percy Title – Upper Settle Celebrations A brass band leads a procession.  They are followed by a float of children in fancy dress.  Next there is a posse of adults, interspersed by those in fancy dress, some with blackened faces, a la the minstrels.  There follows another float, belonging to coal merchants Settle Limes Ltd., with children in fancy dress and more Settle residents.  A policeman, escorted by some girls, leads the procession down a narrow street.  Pretending to be a conductor, a man in evening dress, a top hat and an eye patch walks in front of the brass band.  The parade is filmed again going past.  There is a makeshift band of odd fellows, one also with a blackened face, playing an assortment of instruments, such as an accordion, mouth organ, drums and horns.  A boy displays a sign around his neck declaring, “Join the Home Guard.”  An elderly woman bashes a drum and a boy in sailor’s uniform plays a harmonica.  A large group of children in fancy dress pose for the camera, while people sit on a bench outside “Coronation Cottage,” where a boy and girl play in cowboy outfits. Title – The Elizabethan Fayre held in the Market Place, Settle, with procession and revelry.     A girl dressed as Queen Elizabeth I sits on a throne.  The throne is standing on a timber platform, and the girl is surrounded by an entourage in appropriate Elizabethan costume.  They are situated in Settle Market Square, where a large crowd has assembled in a circle to watch children dancing around a maypole in front of the Queen’s platform.  Spectators watch from the balcony of the Shambles, which has a banner above McGeoch’s cafe declaring “Long Live the Queen.”   Three men in Robin Hood getup wave their fists in mock anger at the camera.  There is more of children dancing around the maypole, and people looking at a stall selling children’s toys.  A minstrel sits in the stocks in front of the throne and has his photo taken, before being joined in the stocks by a bell-ringer.   Other events follow including a pillow fight competition involving men precariously seated on a pole, facing each other, and trying to knock the other off the pole with their pillow.  There are several rounds of this, giving much laughter to the spectators.  Meanwhile, the Oddsorts band plays on.  There is a stall selling souvenir coronation plates and cups.  Children try to bite into buns hung on string.  There are other various games involving having to knock objects over.  There is a view over the market and stalls, manned by people wearing medieval costume, from the balcony of the Shambles.  A line of elderly ladies sit watching proceedings.  Two boys go around on a double seated roundabout, hand-propelled by levers.   A small boy stands alone dressed as a royal guard. A lorry has a sign on it stating, “Television chef suggests these famous British recipes, with the accent on saving,” and a sign for National Savings.  More children and adults are seen in fancy dress, including a woman dressed in the theme of the Suffragettes.  The parade continues into the Market Square and through the town to the shop of Brassington and Sons, interspersed by a display of some fancy car driving in the Square.