Part 1 - Religious Procession in the Italian Quarter of Hatton Garden, London

Black and white print

Images of the procession of friendly societies in the Italian Quarter of Hatton Garden in London in July 1931. The procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – held on the Sunday after 16 July – was Little Italy’s most important cultural event. Except during wartime, it has taken place annually since at least 1896. The procession was one of the first public manifestations of Catholicism given legal sanction since the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Queen Victoria was said to have granted special permission to the local police in Holborn to allow the parade to take place.