The Pageant of Streatham (1951)

Pageant type

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Performances

Place: Streatham Baths Hall (Streatham) (Streatham, Surrey, England)

Year: 1951

Indoors/outdoors: Indoors

Number of performances: 4

Notes

5–7 April, 1951

Evenings 7.45pm; Saturday Matinee 3pm.

Name of pageant master and other named staff

  • Mistress of the Pageant [Pageant Master]: Massey, E.C.
  • Master of the Music: Mr Stanley Taylor
  • Mistress of the Robes: Miss Elise Baker and Miss L. Belphor
  • Comperes: The Rev. Canon D.M. Salmon and the Rev. Eric Shave
  • Episode I Producer: Mr William D. Legge
  • Episode II Producer: Mr E.G. Osborn
  • Episode III Producer: The Rev. H.H. Bryant
  • Episode IV Producer: Miss E.C. Massey
  • Episode VI Producer: Miss E.C. Massey

Names of executive committee or equivalent

n/a

Names of script-writer(s) and other credited author(s)

  • Debenham, Mary

Names of composers

  • Warlock, Peter
  • Byrd, William
  • Mendelssohn, Felix
  • Boccherini, Luigi
  • Sullivan, Arthur
  • Spring-Rice, Cecil

Numbers of performers

125

The figure of 125 is an estimate; the number may have been as high as 150.

Financial information

Object of any funds raised

Inter-Church Aid Refugee Service Department, British Council of Churches.

Linked occasion

Festival of Britain, itself an anniversary of the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Audience information

  • Grandstand: No
  • Grandstand capacity: n/a
  • Total audience: n/a

Prices of admission and seats: highest–lowest

5s.–2s.

  • Numbered and reserved: 5s. and 3s.
  • Unreserved: 2s.

Associated events

n/a

Pageant outline

Episode I. St Leonard

Presented by the Streatham Congregational Church and Phoenix Dramatic Society. [It seems likely that the substance of this episode will have been the same as in 1925— the following is reproduced from that Book of Words.]1

Richard de Tonbridge, cousin of William the Conqueror, gave the manors of Streatham and Tooting to the Abbey of Bec in Normandy. A band of monks came from the Norman Abbey to found a monastery at Tooting. Gurth, Withold and other Saxons enter, and some begin to moan about how nothing good has happened since Norman William ‘and his bloodsuckers’ set foot in England. Withold, though, is optimistic, and says that England will continue to be living and mighty for a long time. They continue to argue whether the benefits of the Normans outweigh the negatives. The argument turns into a fight. Godwin, Eanswith and Aldyth enter and break it up. Guthlac rushes in looking for his mother and cries that Sweyne has fallen in the fish pond. Brother Martin comes in with the child, having rescued him, and intrigues the locals with his foreign voice. It turns out that Martin is an old friend of Godwin, studying together abroad. Martin asks after Streatham, and is then shown the way there. After Martin has left, the Saxons again argue about whether it is a good thing that Martin is likely to be establishing a French Abbey in the English lands—some insisting that the education will benefit the land. Martin re-enters, and gradually persuades the Saxons by telling stories of how the coming monks will bake their famous bread and ends the scene by declaring that the brethren will do their part to bring peace and good will into the land.

Episode II. The Coming of the Monks to Tooting Bec

Presented by St Andrew’s Church. [It seems likely that the substance of this episode will have been the same as in 1925— the following is reproduced from that Book of Words.]2

Richard de Tonbridge, cousin of William the Conqueror, gave the manors of Streatham and Tooting to the Abbey of Bec in Normandy. A band of monks came from the Norman Abbey to found a monastery at Tooting. Gurth, Withold and other Saxons enter, and some begin to moan about how nothing good has happened since Norman William ‘and his bloodsuckers’ set foot in England. Withold, though, is optimistic, and says that England will continue to be living and mighty for a long time. They continue to argue whether the benefits of the Normans outweigh the negatives. The argument turns into a fight. Godwin, Eanswith and Aldyth enter and break it up. Guthlac rushes in looking for his mother and cries that Sweyne has fallen in the fish pond. Brother Martin comes in with the child, having rescued him, and intrigues the locals with his foreign voice. It turns out that Martin is an old friend of Godwin, studying together abroad. Martin asks after Streatham, and is then shown the way there. After Martin has left, the Saxons again argue about whether it is a good thing that Martin is likely to be establishing a French Abbey in the English lands—some insisting that the education will benefit the land. Martin re-enters, and gradually persuades the Saxons by telling stories of how the coming monks will bake their famous bread and ends the scene by declaring that the brethren will do their part to bring peace and good will into the land.

Episode III. The Days of the Black Prince

[It seems likely that the substance of this episode will have been the same as in 1925— the following is reproduced from that Book of Words.]3

Villagers enter, eagerly awaiting the appearance of the Prince of Wales, who is on his way to see the rebuilt Streatham church. A Knight and his squire pass through, reach the church and praise the building. Joan and children enter, and play games. It transpires that the Knight is Joan’s father and has finally returned from war and prison in Spain, much to her delight. A dance then takes place, as the Knight watches—reunited with his wife and children. Villagers re-enter shouting ‘God Save the Prince’. The Black Prince enters with Sir John Ward, and thanks the villagers for their welcome. He reunites with the Knight—having fought with him at Poitiers. The Prince leaves. The Knight’s wife promises jewels to help the new church. The children discuss the motto on the Prince’s banner, ‘I Serve’, asking why it was not ‘I rule’. Another reminds them that it was the motto of Jesus—‘Who is King of us all.’

Episode IV. The Master of the Revels

Presented by the Streatham Shakespeare Players. [It is likely that this was the same as presented in the 1936 pageant – the following is taken verbatim from the 1936 programme]4

Edmund Tylney, Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth and King James, was buried in St Leonard’s Church in October, 1610. Part of his duties was that of Censor of Plays, and we have evidence that he rigorously eliminated from Shakespeare’s text all quotations from Holy Writ and words that were blasphemous or objectionable. His monument in the South Porch reveals him as a pompous person consumed with family pride. The inscription consists almost entirely of a list of his aristocratic relations.

[From the 1936 script]5

The Master of the Revels, Sir Edmund Tylney, enters, richly attired, and attended by his secretary. Tylney tells of his family’s long connection with the revels and the importance of his noble roots. He begins to reminisce, to the impatience of his secretary, who interrupts him to say that William Shakespeare is waiting for him to pitch a play for the revels (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Shakespeare enters and tells Sir Edmund about his play; Edmund accepts after being assured there is no offence in it. Edmund muses that Shakespeare has a pretty wit and some skill as a play writer. All leave, and then a dance from A Midsummer Night’s Dream is performed. Oberon then enters, and announces a wedding.

Episode V. The May Wedding, 1695

Presented by St Leonard’s Church. [It is likely that this was the same as presented in the 1936 pageant – the following is taken verbatim from 1936 programme]

Edmund Tylney, Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth and King James, was buried in St Leonard’s Church in October, 1610. Part of his duties was that of Censor of Plays, and we have evidence that he rigorously eliminated from Shakespeare’s text all quotations from Holy Writ and words that were blasphemous or objectionable. His monument in the South Porch reveals him as a pompous person consumed with family pride. The inscription consists almost entirely of a list of his aristocratic relations.

[From the 1936 script]

The Master of the Revels, Sir Edmund Tylney, enters, richly attired, and attended by his secretary. Tylney tells of his family’s long connection with the revels and the importance of his noble roots. He begins to reminisce, to the impatience of his secretary, who interrupts him to say that William Shakespeare is waiting for him to pitch a play for the revels (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Shakespeare enters and tells Sir Edmund about his play; Edmund accepts after being assured there is no offence in it. Edmund muses that Shakespeare has a pretty wit and some skill as a play writer. All leave, and then a dance from A Midsummer Night’s Dream is performed. Oberon then enters, and announces a wedding.

Episode VI. Dr Johnson at Streatham

Presented by the Streatham Players. [It is likely that this was the same as presented in the 1925 pageant—the following is taken from that Book of Words]6

Dr Samuel Johnson was a constant visitor to Mr and Mrs Thrale at Streatham Place, and had a great love for St Leonard’s Church. Mrs Thrale and Mrs Burney, the author of Evelina, enter. They talk about Burney’s writing, and the impending visit of Dr Johnson, who they compliment for his charity work with poor pensioners. Mr Thrale, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr Johnson and Mr Boswell enter. They are debating the merits of tea, a new-fangled beverage—Dr Johnson being strongly in favour. The conversation turns to liberty—Dr Johnson arguing that ‘liberty without restraint is the lowest and most ignominious form of slavery’. He explains that liberty is a means to an end, and that men should use their liberty to do the good of Him who made them.

Epilogue. The Question on Freedom Answered

[It would appear likely that this was the same ending, from the fifth episode, as the 1925 pageant— the following is taken from that Book of Words]7

A Girl Student appears, and declares ‘Oh, dear, good, obstinate, kind old Doctor Johnson! Have you give us the clue? Liberty that submits to law, liberty that sets us free for work? Joan, from the previous episode, now re-enters with Brother Martin and approaches the Girl Student. They ask her if she goes to St Leonard’s Church, which she does, promising that she says her prayers. Freedom reappears and ends the pageant by saying:

Is perfect freedom—Aye, the royal road
Of those who conquer self, and so are free
To give themselves whole-hearted to fulfil
The Will of Him Whose law for all His World
Is love and labour. Watch them as they pass
Along the ages: men who cleared and tilled
The tangled forest country; men who wore
The habit of the monk, the warrior’s mail;
Kind hearts who cared for simple village folk;
Stout hearts who held the torch in days of doubt.
Forth in their tracks, ye fighters of to-day!
Light the blind eyes and free the fettered souls,
And lead them forth along your own glad road
The way of freedom pledged to those who serve.

Key historical figures mentioned

  • Tilney, Edmund (1535/6–1610) courtier
  • Shakespeare, William (1564–1616) playwright and poet
  • Edward [Edward of Woodstock; known as the Black Prince], prince of Wales and of Aquitaine (1330–1376) heir to the English throne and military commander
  • Thrale, Henry (1728–1781) brewer and politician
  • Johnson, Samuel (1709–1784) author and lexicographer
  • Burney [married name D'Arblay], Frances [Fanny] (1752–1840) writer
  • Reynolds, Sir Joshua (1723–1792 ortrait and history painter and art theorist
  • Garrick, David (1717–1779) actor and playwright
  • Garrick [née Veigel], Eva Maria [performing name Violette] (1724–1822) dancer
  • Boswell, James (1740–1795) lawyer, diarist, and biographer of Samuel Johnson

Musical production

Orchestra: Members of the Streatham Orchestral Society.
Choir: Choir of the Church of the English Martyrs.
  • Overture. ‘Basse Dance’ (Capriol Suite), Peter Warlock.
  • Interlude. ‘Pavane’, Peter Warlock.
  • Interlude. ‘Pavane, Earl of Salisbury’, Byrd [presumably William Byrd] (arranged by Stanley Taylor).
  • Interlude. The Fairies March (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Mendelssohn.
  • Interlude. ‘My Lady Greensleeves’ and an ‘Old English Air’. 
  • Interlude. ‘Minuet’ and ‘Boccherini’.
[There is only music listed for the interludes—it seems likely that, during episodes, the same music was used as in 1925 and 1936—see those proformas.]
  • Epilogue. 
  • Final Chorus. The Two Fatherlands, Cecil Spring-Rice.
  • ‘King Henry VIII Song’, Arthur Sullivan.


Newspaper coverage of pageant

Streatham News

Book of words

Debenham, Mary. The Pageant of Streatham. Streatham, 1951.

Other primary published materials

n/a

References in secondary literature

n/a

Archival holdings connected to pageant

  • Handbill for 1951 Pageant. IV/66/3/83. Lambeth Archives.

Sources used in preparation of pageant

n/a

Summary

The Streatham Pageant of 1951 was the third and seemingly final outing for the event first staged in 1925 and then again in 1936. It was staged in the Streatham Baths Hall instead of Streatham Hall, which had been damaged during the Second World War. The Streatham Council of Churches took on the responsibility—which means, in practice, that it was again an inter-denominational undertaking, as with the 1936 outing. Different amateur dramatic societies and churches were responsible for individual episodes. The organisations involved were: the Streatham Congregational Church and Phoenix Dramatic Society; St Andrew’s Church; Streatham Hill Congregational Church; St Margaret’s Church the Streatham Shakespeare Players; St Leonard’s Church; and the Streatham Players. The Women’s United Christian Fellowship of the Council of Churches was also active behind the scenes.

The wider ethos of the Festival of Britain was one of national rebuilding and reconstruction, expressed through a confidence in the arts, sciences, and technology of the nation. The priorities of the festival were partly about overcoming recent bad memories by projecting a sense of national identity backwards—to rethink a national sense of place and to ‘fall in love with the land again’.8 Such bad memories were clearly evident in Streatham, which had suffered heavy damage during the Blitz. In total the enemy had dropped just over 4850 bombs on the town, there had been 1700 casualties and 250 were killed in the town.9

This ethos seemed to play out in the pageant itself. In terms of episodic narrative the producers took all the episodes from the 1925 pageant and all the episodes from the 1936 pageant and mixed them together (see entries for 1925 and 1936 Streatham pageants). This meant that the fun and local concentration of 1936 were put alongside the message of freedom and liberty that had been so prominent in 1925. As Streatham had again, as in the First World War, been extensively damaged by bombs, this message of freedom must have once more seemed apt. Reflecting the extensive involvement of local churches, the Final Chorus was the ‘Two Fatherlands’ by Cecil Rice. Essentially a piece about the importance of giving loyalty to both country and God, this would have seemed a fitting end to a pageant staged for the Festival of Britain by a coalition of Churches.

As it had commented on the pageant in 1936, the Streatham News wondered why the performance ended with Dr Johnson, arguing that ‘After all, history never stops and much has happened to and in Streatham since then.’ Still, as the paper noted, the Baths were crowded as people tried ‘to get a peep into Streatham’s history’, and it was a ‘first-class production.’10 But the popularity of the pageant should not be overstated—a concurrent civic event, commemorating the final journey of the last tram in Streatham, was, by contrast attended by thousands.11 Still, the pageant was seemingly at least as successful as the previous 1925 and 1936 pageants—but it was also the last for Streatham. It remains as a testament to the widespread (and as yet mostly unacknowledged) use of local historical pageantry during the Festival of Britain, and also to the continued role that religion played in organising local civic life in the 1950s.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Mary Debenham, Mary. The Book of the Pageant of Streatham (Croydon, 1925).
  2. ^ Ibid.
  3. ^ Ibid.
  4. ^ [Programme], IV/66/3/7, Lambeth Archives.
  5. ^ Script, ‘Episode III’, IV/66/3/7(c), Lambeth Archives.
  6. ^ Debenham, Book of the Pageant of Streatham.
  7. ^ Ibid.
  8. ^ Harriet Atkinson, The Festival of Britain: A Land and its People (London, 2012), 2.
  9. ^ Graham Gower, A Brief History of Streatham (Streatham, 1991), 29.
  10. ^ ‘Pageant Presents Peep into the History of Streatham’, The Streatham News, 13 April 1951, 5.
  11. ^ ‘Streatham Turned up in Thousands to See Last Tram’, The Streatham News, 13 April 1951, 1.

How to cite this entry

Angela Bartie, Linda Fleming, Mark Freeman, Tom Hulme, Alex Hutton, Paul Readman, ‘The Pageant of Streatham (1951)’, The Redress of the Past, http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/pageants/1217/