The film shows street scenes in Sheffield city centre with vehicles and people on the move and views of the area close to the Town Hall. It is believed to have been made for traffic survey purposses after the removal of the statue of Queen Victoria in February 1930. Title: Town Hall Square 1929 The film opens with views looking down Fargate, taken from Town Hall Square. There are a variety of vehicles including cars, trams, motor bikes and bicycles. Pedestrians are crossing the road,...

The film shows street scenes in Sheffield city centre with vehicles and people on the move and views of the area close to the Town Hall. It is believed to have been made for traffic survey purposses after the removal of the statue of Queen Victoria in February 1930. Title: Town Hall Square 1929 The film opens with views looking down Fargate, taken from Town Hall Square. There are a variety of vehicles including cars, trams, motor bikes and bicycles. Pedestrians are crossing the road, apparently oblivious to the traffic. The Yorkshire Penny Bank and the top of Surrey Street are then shown briefly. There are further scenes in Fargate and the paved area where the statue of Victoria stood can be seen in the foreground. This is followed by views towards Leopold Street, showing the shops on the corner of Fargate/Leopold Street. Again the film returns to Fargate as a tram passes in front of the camera and there are more scenes of confusion as both traffic and pedestrians seem to be unregulated. The camera position changes and there are glimpses of the corner of Pinstone Street, the taxi rank in Barkers Pool, Wilson Peck on the corner of Leopold Street and the shops in Fargate. A tram passes as it goes down Fargate. A group of white-coated road sweepers have gathered outside Wilson Peck and a motor bus and more trams pass through the picture. Returning to the views down Fargate, white-coated newspaper sellers carrying placards meet on the traffic island and some of the pedestrians have obviously spotted the camera. A Cole Brothers delivery van passes the island. Background The film is believed to have been made for traffic survey purposes. Although it is dated 1929, it was probably made in 1930. The statue of Victoria which stood in Town Hall Square was removed on 24 February 1930 and the marks left by the plinth can still be seen on the traffic island Provenance Transferred to Sheffield Libraries from the City Council's Publicity Department in 1985.