Light On East Anglia

A travelogue of East Anglian towns and villages

A day in various parts of East Anglia beginning with dawn and early morning shots from the county. Shots of wildfowlers going onto the marshes at Blakeney and Blakeney Point at dawn to shoot ducks. Village churches and cows grazing by the River Stour. Horses canter along a path in Newmarket and the trawler fleet leave Lowestoft. In Dedham, the milkman and paper boy on their rounds. A tractor harrows the soil. The Co-operative Stores open for the day at Dedham and a man leaves for work from a modern house. Shots of school children going into school. King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A traveller consults his map before further scenes from Newmarket showing the horses on the gallops at Newmarket heath. A car journey through some Suffolk villages to Aldeburgh, where there are shots of the Moot Hall. A painter works by the River Stour at Flatford Mill and the film shows Willie Lott's Cottage. A reed cutter cuts reed by the Broads in Norfolk. These are bundled up and delivered to a thatcher who is seen at work. Thatched holiday chalets in East Norfolk and scenes of children playing on the beach. At Burnham Thorpe, the Trafalgar Stores open for the day and there are also views of All Saints Church and the memorial to Admiral Lord Nelson. The ladies from the almshouses, endowed by Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton at Castle Rising, are filmed going into St. Lawrence's Church wearing their tall black hats and red capes. A long sequence shows the interior of the Church of Our Lady at Walsingham and the shrine. A couple browsing in an antiques' shop at Thaxted. As they drive away we see Thaxted Guildhall and the Church of St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and St. Lawrence. There are views of Finchingfield before shots of the Broads at Wroxham and Horning. At Southwold there are shots of the town, showing the Sole Bay Inn. Returning to Cambridge, students with their bicycles on Trinity Street and views of Trinity College, St. John's College and King's College. At Dedham, a couple visit a hotel and have lunch by the river whilst the commentary extols the virtues of East Anglia cuisine. There are shots of moored barges at Pin Mill, of the Backs at Cambridge and a sequence showing the Reedham Ferry taking a car across the River Yare. Further shots show scenes from Kersey, including the St. Mary's Church and the ford that crosses the village street. The wherry 'Albion' sails on the Broads. Shots of Norwich market and then of cricket matches, one in Norfolk village and one at the Norwich School. The Cathedral is in the background. The film ends with a montage of atmospheric shots designed to represent evening. There are shots of Binham Priory, of tulip field blowing in the wind, and a rainbow over the marshes. Fish are unloaded at Lowestoft and the final shots are of an evening fairground on the Quay at Wells.

Featured Buildings

Moot Hall, Aldeburgh; St. Lawrence's Church, Castle Rising; Binham Priory, Flatford Mill; Trafalgar Stores, Burnham Thorpe; Willie Lott's Cottage, Flatford; All Saints Church, Burnham Thorpe; St. Mary's Church, Kersey; King's College, Cambridge; The Norwich School; St. John's College, Cambridge; Norwich Cathedral; Trinity College, Cambridge; Sole Bay Inn, Southwold; King College Chapel, Cambridge; Thaxted Guildhall; Memorial to Admiral Lord Nelson, Burnham Thorpe; The Church of St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and St. Lawrence, Thaxted; The Church and Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham.

Keywords

Agriculture; Tourism; Village life; Wildlife

Other Places

Aldeburgh; Binham; Kerse; Burnham Thorpe; Lowestoft; Castle Rising; Newmarket; Norwich; Pin Mill; Reedham; Southwold; Walsingham; Wells; Dedham; Finchingfield; Cambridge; Thaxted

Background Information

Information supplied by Dan Hood in 2021 about the Trafalgar Stores in Burnham Thorpe: 'This film has a short clip showing the Trafalgar Stores in Burnham Thorpe. My Dad, Alec Hood is shown outside the shop. He was proprietor of the store and was also landlord of the Lord Nelson pub. My mum was landlady Mary Hood. The store was in the grounds of the pub, it was originally a cart shed. Dad had it converted into the Trafalgar Stores back in February 1964 when the local shop closed. Many years back, my dad told me the story of when a film crew came to Burnham Thorpe, a rare sight back then. All the locals came out to try and get their few minutes of fame. The camera man did film some scenes of the pub but I guess they ended up on cutting room of Pathé. Just recently, I found out they used this clip on a film called Britain by Jove starring Ray Alan and Lord Charles.'