London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
This film is part of Free
Thames En Fête
A mermaid, a fat man in a barrel and water-bound jockeys all appear in this brilliant short showing Londoners taking part in the Molesey Regatta.
From the collection of:
Overview
There’s plenty to enjoy here, as London celebrates the Molesey Regatta with a host of weird events. Filmed for posterity is a race featuring men in riding silks “swimming” aboard semi-submerged hobby horses, and a ridiculous group of clowns– including a very large gentleman in a top hat – sitting in barrels and rowing frantically in circles with a single paddle. There’s also a four-year-old mermaid and lots of decorated boats.
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