The modern pageant boom starts here, as a Dorset market town celebrates its rich history.

Sherborne Pageant (1905)












Facts
Director | Louis N. Parker |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Production | |
Distribution |
Categories
Black and White Cardinal Crusifix Docudrama Drama Historical Drama History Invasion Monk Pageant Priest Procession Short Silent Film St. Ealdhelm Theatre Viking Age War DramaHistoryShortWarBlack and White, Cardinal, Crusifix, Docudrama, Historical Drama, Invasion, Monk, Pageant, Priest, Procession, Silent Film, St. Ealdhelm, Theatre, Viking AgeDescriptions
The pageant mounted in June 1905 by the people of Sherborne, Dorset, deserves its own place in history. This ambitious spectacle, with a cast of over 800 enacting scenes from the town's 1200-year history beside the ruins of Sherborne Castle, kicked off a craze in pageants that swept Britain. "It is difficult," said The Times, "to convey a just idea of the beauty and interest of the pageant without falling into extravagant diction." These precious images give us a taste, at least.
The pageant was the brainchild of playwright Louis Napoleon Parker, who would later repeat the formula in several other locations. The 11-act drama starts with the foundation of the town by the bishop St. Aldhelm in 1705, and highlights the perhaps surprisingly illustrious past - Sherborne was once the capital of the old kingdom of Wessex, and Elizabethan adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh (seen smoking a pipe at around the 15-minutes mark) made it his home. The absence of intertitles leaves a lot unexplained, but there's no mistaking the genuinely epic scale of the endeavour.
Source: BFI
A man dressed as a cardinal gives orders to men dressed as monks, who erect a crucifix-shaped construction and place a wreath around it. A procession passes through with a queen carried on a sedan chair. When a king greets her, he bows and she curtseys. Together they stand and bow before the cardinal, who performs rights upon them. Hand in hand, he guides the king and queen away. As they move, a crowd in various historical costumes follow them.
A group of warriors charge and a battle ensues between men dressed in white and men dressed as monks. These men are armed with cudgels, sickles, shields and axes, and attack each other with ferocity. Some pretend to die.
A solemn procession passes as a man, playing sick, is carried on a bed. When placed down another man dressed in authoritative religious costume prays for him and they embrace. The man pretends to die before his face is covered by a white sheet.
Tables are quickly constructed by monks who sit down to feast. A group of young women gather but are chased off by a little man with a sword. There is another battle, this time between men of different costume. A dance is held. Men with horse-costumes around their waists pretend to ride. Women dance around men with spears before the men form a circle that the women dance around. Boys in costume form a crowd and men read from scrolls, after which the boys cheer and throw their hats up into the air.
A man dressed as Sir Walter Raleigh sits at a table. A woman curtseys and helps light Raleigh's pipe before he kisses her hand. A man spies on Raleigh from behind the table then throws water on him. Raleigh jumps up in a rage and the man runs away.
Children dance around a maypole. Choirboys pass as part of a procession, singing. A much larger procession gathers, including people in many different costumes. Men dressed in twentieth-century clothing are seen close to the procession, and one man directs the crowd.
Source: BFI - Screenonline
Dress rehearsal of the historical pageant recorded by Charles Urban at Sherborne Castle in Sherborne, Dorset, on 31 May 1905. Includes reconstructions of Norman, Viking and Saxon invasions, Sir Walter Raleigh smoking tobacco (889-933), various historical scenes, a procession of historical characters and a Maypole scene (934-951) (1101ft).
Source: BFI - Collections
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Cast
Crew
Louis N. Parker | - | Director |
Reviews
This is a wonderful documentation of one of the first, and possibly greatest, pageants. Apparently, the film of it is from the rehearsal, but we get 18 minutes of action! Louis N. Parker basically invented a new genre of theater, and did so in a small town in the UK, when he realized that it was forthcoming the 1200-year anniversary of the town. The event is greatly documented, and is a fascinating part of history that is just amazing. It is so cool that they captured this on film back in 1905! Worth so much more than simple processions