We want to get to know you more to help improve our service. Please take 2 minutes to fill out our survey here. Thank you! test2

Discover content and watch films on our latest and improved iOS app. Download it here!

This film is part of Free

Blue Coat Children Marching to Curzon Hall, Birmingham (1901)

Church school pupils set off for a trip to the famous Birmingham entertainment hall.

Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent

Overview

Birmingham's Blue Coat School (established 1722) was one of many charity schools founded by the Church of England to educate children from poor families. Garbed in Tudor-period frocks - dyed blue, the traditional colour of almsgiving - the boys would have made a quaint sight as they were marched briskly to what was presumably supposed to be a fun outing.