Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, 1897

Cardigan High Street, 1897. Children parade through the town to Celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
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This year, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee. Over the Jubilee weekend, across Britain, many people joined in celebrations on the streets, fired up their barbeques and hung up bunting to celebrate sixty years of her reign.

In 1897, the people of Cardigan celebrated Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in a similar way by parading through the town. These photographs capture the spirit of their festivities: flags flutter from the buildings and across the street, a marching band provides music, and hundreds of people dressed in their best parade along the road. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to mark a Diamond Jubilee - Queen Elizabeth is only the second.

These photographs were reproduced from glass plate negatives loaned to the Royal Commission by Thomas Lloyd. The distortion at the edges of some of the images is caused by decay of the original negatives. By scanning these images before they deteriorated further, a valuable record of past life and events in Cardigan has been preserved for future generations.

Flags decorated with Queen Victoria’s image are flown above the street.
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Local businesses, including the bank (left) and the chocolate shop (right), fly a wide variety of different flags in celebration.
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A marching band parades down Cardigan High Street, followed by crowds of revellers.
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