Footage shows historic crowning
AMAZING footage of Britain’s Silk Queen being crowned in Macclesfield in the 1930s has emerged.
The beautifully preserved film of the coronation in 1933 features on the British Film Institute’s website.
The six-minute of footage shot by a newsreel company has no voiceover, leaving just the enchanting mutterings of the crowd.
In the short film the Silk Queen is crowned then makes a speech. The Mayor speaks, then a procession, including the Silk Queen on a horsedrawn float, moves down the street.
Macclesfield was the centre of the silk weaving industry in Britain for many years, renowned for the skill of its designers and for its richly patterned woven fabrics.
The Silk Queen involved the annual coronation of a local mill worker.
It was an annual tradition introduced as a way of promoting the industry much like the way Lancashire celebrated its Cotton Queen.
It is believed the tradition died out during the Second World War but was resurrected briefly in the 1970s and 2000s.
Do you know anyone featured in this film? Email stuart.greer@menmedia. co.uk