This film was made by the Riley brothers, Herbert and William, who started up a lantern slide business in Bradford at the Colonnade, Westgate and later a small shop in John Street – in that same year. The film had previously been credited to Frank Mottershaw of the Sheffield Photo Company, but Mottershaw corrected this in an article for ‘Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly’ in 1917. The film doesn’t seem to have been recorded at the time in the Sheffield press, but is mentioned in the December...

This film was made by the Riley brothers, Herbert and William, who started up a lantern slide business in Bradford at the Colonnade, Westgate and later a small shop in John Street – in that same year.

The film had previously been credited to Frank Mottershaw of the Sheffield Photo Company, but Mottershaw corrected this in an article for ‘Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly’ in 1917. The film doesn’t seem to have been recorded at the time in the Sheffield press, but is mentioned in the December supplement to the catalogue of the Warwick Trading Company of 1898 – No. 8001, p. 31, where it states that the film, ‘ . . was taken quite close to the edge of the causeway.’

The film – also known as The Queen At Sheffield – was shown for the first time in Bradford by Richard Appleton at an open air screening, reported by the Bradford Daily Argus, on 23rd June 1897.  The report states that a film by Appleton of the Diamond Jubilee procession in London, filmed that same day, was also shown at this event. Its probable first showing in Sheffield was on Christmas Eve 1897 at Montgomery Hall, presented by J.T. Blake a Sheffield photographer; and then again at Sheffield Albert Hall on 4th March 1899, presented by Jasper Redfern, a local optician who moved into making moving films, and who also took several photographs of Queen Victoria’s visit, now held by Sheffield Local Studies.

Ostensibly the purpose of the occasion was the official opening of Sheffield's new Town Hall.  Located at the top of Pinstone Street, the Town Hall was designed by the London based architect E. W. Mountford, and constructed over a seven year period from 1890 to 1897.   

However, the visit coincided with national celebrations marking Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Year. In the previous year Queen Victoria became the longest reigning monarch in English, Scottish, and British history. The Queen requested all special public celebrations of the event to be delayed until 1897, to coincide with her Diamond Jubilee (60 years), and the visit to Sheffield was designed to be part of this. It was the first visit of a reigning Sovereign to the city. Queen Victoria was criticised in the early part of her reign for not being seen enough in public, but later on she was often performing opening ceremonies. The Queen remained in seclusion for many years after the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861, and wore black for the rest of her life; a grief reinforced by the death of John Brown, her faithful, and very close, servant, in 1883. 

The film opens, most probably, according to the highly detailed account in The Times, with the tenth carriage in the procession, comprising the Lady Southampton, the Hon Mrs Mallet, the Lord Chamberlain (the Earl of Latham). It is not clear whether this is followed by either her Majesty's 2nd Life Guards or the troop of 17th Lancers. There is disagreement as to who exactly is the Queen in the carriage. Local historian Clifford Shaw claims it is the person veiled and holding a parasol, but a report in The Times suggests otherwise: ‘On the right hand sat the Queen, who seemed to be in excellent health and spirits. She wore a white feather in her bonnet. Her Majesty repeatedly acknowledged the acclamations of the people with evident pleasure and just pride.’ A photo taken at Cammells steel works also shows this. Also, the 'key' for the Town Hall was taken to the Queen in the carriage, and it seems logical that she would sit on that side – on the right facing forward.

The route taken from the Midland station to the Town Hall was through Sheaf Street, Commercial Street, High Street, Fargate, and then around the Town Hall to Pinstone Street. The ceremony at the Town Hall was said to have lasted ten minutes. Here the Queen was presented with a gold casket and key, designed and manufactured by Mappin and Webb, Royal Works, Sheffield.   After the ceremony the procession left by way of Barkers Pool, Cambridge Street, The Moor, Hereford Street, St Mary's Road and Norfolk Park Road for her next engagement in Norfolk Park which was timed at six o'clock. The Royal procession entered Norfolk Park by the Belle Vue gates and drove along the new road, called the "Queen's Drive," to be met by hundreds of children.  After this the Queen visited Cammells Steel Works.  For an extensive overview of the event and of who was there, see the article on Chris Hobb's website (References).

The Queen was to celebrate her seventy eighth birthday three days later on 24th May 1897. It was noted that the Queen never left her carriage at anytime during the visit; the reason given being the state of her health.  She was more or less immobile as a result of heart disease.


References

Some notes on the film, compiled by local historian Clifford Shaw – author of Sheffield Cinemas and other publications – are held at the YFA.

Robert Benfield, Bijou Kinema: a History of Cinema in Yorkshire, Sheffield City Polytechnic/Yorkshire Arts, 1976.

Andrew Higson, Young and Innocent: a History of Cinema in Britain, University of Exeter Press, 2002

Pauline Shearstone, John William Mottershaw's Sheffield: 1860-1930, pub. Pauline Shearstone, Sheffield, 1994.

A long and very detailed report of the visit can be found online at The Times at Queen Victoria to Sheffield 
There is also an interesting article at the Town Hall, Sheffield by ‘Micksheff’.
Chris Hobb, Queen Victoria's visit to Sheffield