[Village Scenes]

Worstead village scenes including views of the school, a local farm and the church.

The opening shots of this film are of Worstead Station. This is deserted except for a car parked outside. There follow views of Worstead church, one of which is taken from a moving train as it passes fields of stooked wheat. There are close up shots of the flint work of the church and of architectural features. There is a shot of the village square taken from the Church tower, showing a young girl walking across and a lorry pulling away. There are shots of the pinnacles on the corners of the tower, along with the interior and. These include box pews, the altar and altar screen. There are further views of the village and of the surrounding countryside taken from the tower. Shots of the village at ground level include the school, the New Inn and the King's Head. Children are playing near the school. A little girl passes carrying a case, which could be an instrument case. There are also shots of the derelict Briggate Windmill. The next sequence is filmed at Cherry Tree Cottage, the home of the film-maker, and shows his daughter playing on the lawn with her dog. There follow shots of the village pond and of Swan's Farm. These include a scene showing farm workers mucking out, the cows being brought back for milking, the milking parlour and farm workers making stooks in a field of barley. Briggate Windmill is in the background. There follow shots, including one of a modified binder cutting flax, taken from the tower of the derelict windmill. There are exterior and interior shots of the Baptist Chapel at Meeting Hill. There are many shots of the lanes and of the houses in the area. There are shots of elderly inhabitants outside their almshouse in the village. A plaque reads 'The gift of Mr. Sam. Chapman to old persons, c. 1820'. Troops undergo a training session on Sandy Hill in the next sequence. These are followed by shots of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal. These include the lock and wheel at Briggate Mill, the property of Cubitt and Walker Ltd. Further shots of Briggate Street, including the White Horse Inn, precede a shot of a steam train on the M & G N Line. There are several views of the village from the carriage window as the train proceeds towards Stalham. Gatehouse no. 5 is seen which was the level crossing at Sutton.

Featured Buildings

The Baptist Chapel, Meeting Hill; Worstead Station; St. Mary's Parish Church; Cherry Tree Cottage; Swan's Farm; Briggate Windmill; Worstead; Briggate Mill; The New Inn; The King's Head; The White Horse Inn; Almshouses

Other Places

Worstead; Meeting Hill

Background Information

Mr. Roper made these films as a record of his home and village over a number of years during and just after World War II. He was working away from the area and never expected to live permanently in Worstead again. On his holidays he shot film of all the people and places that meant so much to him. In the 1960s he returned to Meeting Hill, a hamlet in the Parish of Worstead, 1 1/2 miles to the north, where he settled. The farmhouse at Swan's Farm was destroyed by fire at a later date. Mr Roper's films were featured in an episode of the BBC East series Changing Places in 1982 - Cat 5008 Worstead, Norfolk, 1982 - 'Worstead' – Changing Places.