James Williamson

James Williamson

From a private collection

Early film pioneer

James Williamson could have been just another chemist but thanks to his association with George Albert Smith, he went down in history. The two men were among the early pioneers of film, operating late in the nineteenth century. Smith had a studio in St Ann's Well Garden, then privately owned, and Williamson had his shop in Church Road, Hove.

Born in Scotland in 1855
Born in Scotland, in 1855, Williamson moved south as a young man and was in Hove in 1886. Both he and Smith were members of the Hove Camera Club and Williamson was happy to give exhibitions. He went full time into films in 1898 and made 39 films that year alone.

Innovative silent films
Smith and Williamson made short, silent films which were innovative because they had a story line. Some of them were also comic. Williamson became a major producer in the first decade of the twentieth century with a thriving export trade to the USA. He made 50 films a year in the decade from 1902 and eventually moved to London after establishing a works in Cambridge Grove, Hove. In the capital he ran a successful business manufacturing film apparatus and developing film. He died in Richmond in 1933.

Thanks for this information go to Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company who have named a bus after James Williamson.
You can check out the list of names buses on their site HERE