Herefordshire on Film
Running Time: 90 Mins
Format: 1 Disc, DVD
Ratio: 4:3
£9.99
This 90 minute DVD compilation of archive films from the collections at the Media Archive for Central England was screened at the Courtyard in Herefordshire in2013 as part of the Borderlines Festival. It contains extracts of the following:
England Their England: Hereford Presence of the Past
We begin with a scene setting extract from this film made by Peter Farrell for ATV and broadcast in 1980. It attempts to define the Hereford character in relation to the landscape in the form of the Black Mountains. The narrator is a local musician Philip Booth whose bleak narration reminds us that the ghosts of the past are always amongst us.
Hereford on Parade
A loose title to cover a series of locally shot home movies of post-war life in the city. From the Floral Fete of 1951 to the visit by Queen Elizabeth to the city in 1957 and the May Fair of 1963 we can see that whenever these colourful and lively events were taking place a film-maker was not far away. Look out for the time-capsule like views of Ernie (that’s the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment) revealing the Premium Bond numbers in a special event in 1960 complete with cardboard robot!
Hereford Cattle Market
Extracts from two home movies shot by Leominster man Frank Dale showing firstly a walk around the market in 1953 and then a market centenary parade of Hereford cattle through the city. We will also see a 1976 visit by ATV’s John Swallow who tried to find out why there were so many overseas buyers were keen to snap up the best Herefords.
Hereford United
Time for a sporting interlude with two visits to Edgar Street. The first shows a visit by Sheffield Wednesday in January 1958 to contest the third round of the F.A. Cup. A huge crowd from the days of the duffle coat and rattle at football matches looks on hopefully. They we flash forward to 1972 shortly after another successful cup run (the legendary Ronnie Radford) to find out what life would be like in the league under player manager Colin Addison.
Herefordshire’s Lost Branch Lines
We find that films showing our railway heritage have a particular place in people’s hearts. The nostalgia for a bygone age is encapsulated by the small branch line surviving against the odds. Here we see two lines that lost that battle long before the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. The Golden Valley Railway (which ran from Pontrilas to Hay on Wye) is seen in its final years including the last service to run from Peterchurch in January 1953. We also see the last train to run from Monmouth to Ross through the Wye Valley in January 1959 as well as early work in rescuing one of the stations on the route at Kerne Bridge.
Hereford at War
Several of the films we’re screening today were shot by the Reverend E.G.T. Simey of Kinnersley village including these fascinating images of a Home Guard parade in Hereford as well as American GIs dancing in High Town in 1942. Look out for a cameo from Herr Hitler….
Village Life
Finally in our historical look-back we’ll see some of the village celebrations to mark the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and visit Lyonshall in 1960 for a still topical news report from Midland Montage in which Peter Brown considers the detrimental effect of the closure of the local pub.
Important Note: This title does not have optional Subtitles. This DVD is made to order. A file is burnt to disc in our technical suite when it is purchased. Waiting time for the DVD can therefore be up to 2 weeks. This compilation has been shown on Vimeo as part of MACE's New Way of Seeing project.