Papers relating to the Pageant of Birmingham, 1938

Papers relating to the 'Pageant of Birmingham' held at Aston Park, 11-16 July 1938. Includes a captioned photograph album depicting individuals in historical dress; a supplement to the 'Official Programme'; two promotional newspapers featuring reports of the event; three commemorative badges; and an official programme. Also includes Gwen Lally's autograph, dated 1925.

In 1938 Birmingham celebrated the 100th anniversary of the city's Borough Charter with a pageant acting as the climax of the festivities. Eight episodes told the story of Birmingham from its prehistoric origins to its position as the 'hub of industrial England' and its final status as a city in its own right. The Pageant was one of the largest pageant ever held in Britain, designed to eclipse civic and national rivals at Runnymede in 1934 and Manchester in 1938.

The Pageant was held at Aston Park from July 11 to the 16 (because of its success, the pageant was extended to the following week, from July 18th until the 23rd). Eight episodes told the story of Birmingham from its prehistoric origins to its position as the 'hub of industrial England' and its final status as a city in its own right. It was produced by Gwen Lally (1882-1963), the first female pageant master, and thousands of residents from across the city took part.

The Pageant made a spectacular loss of £11835, despite a massive attendance of 137545. There were many who felt that while the Birmingham Pageant was certainly a financial failure that crippled the city's finances, it yet succeeded in its aim of raising the city's profile and boosting civic pride. The Birmingham Post noted that whilst the cost to the city had been dear, 'At the same time it is felt that the pageant achieved a very great success and was the means of arousing a civic consciousness attracting a considerable amount of attention to Birmingham.' The Sub-Committee report into its own spectacular failings ended a scathing report with a quotation from the Birmingham Post the previous week: 'Whatever the deficit, and the reasons for it, perhaps it will be best to regard the Pageant of Birmingham as an adventure that drew the attention of Great Britain to "The Hub of Industrial England" and gave its humblest citizen a civic pride that should endure long after the dead past has reburied its dead.'

Despite many failings in its realisation, its huge financial losses, and a hostile press which saw the pageant as preferring sound and fury over substance, the pageant has gone down in folk memory, and it's more overblown aspects made a deep and lasting impression on local civic culture.

Open, access to all registered researchers.

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Papers arranged and described by Mark Williams, November 2018, in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and in-house cataloguing guidelines.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material

Presented, July 2018. The official programme was subsequently presented in September 2018. Items MS944/7 and MS944/8 were presented in June 2019.

Photographs and papers relating to Warwickshire pageants and Gwen Lally, pageant master and theatre producer (1882-1963), reference: MS844

A number of publications relating to pageants produced by Gwen Lally are held in Cadbury Research Library book collections.