Industrial Archaeology in East Anglia

1981 , East Anglia (Other)

An exploration of East Anglia's industrial past and folk traditions

The film opens with scenes of folk singing and step dancing from the Ship Inn, Blaxhall, Suffolk, shot in 1964 (from East Anglia. A Celebration Of Midsummer. 1964). The Chairman, Alf Wickets Richardson, invites Sam Friend to sing Jim The Carter's Lad. The film is intercut with stills of farming scenes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These illustrate the words of the song. There are Archive shots of Peasenhall High Street before cutting to shots of the village c. 1980. This introduces a lengthy sequence about James Smyth making a pattern, charging the furnace and the preparation of moulds. After the furnace has been tapped, the liquid metal is poured into moulds and left to cool. The next day, the mould is opened, the top removed by hand, and the finished product is lifted out. At Northrepps, Norfolk, John Golden shows his 1927 Austin and there are shots of the village. John Golden shows the viewer around a disused foundry and explains its history. Some of the machinery is still in situ and he shows some of the patterns used in the foundry including one for a plough. At Ransomes Riverside Works in Ipswich, the mechanised process of making a tractor plough is shown. (Ipswich, Suffolk. Speed The Plough. c. 1950.) There is a shot of the Orwell works, semi-derelict following Ransomes' move to Nacton. There are also shots of the port of Ipswich. The final montage of shots shows a barn at Salary Brook Farm at Wivenhoe, the disused long shop at Garretts of Leiston, Pakenham Windmill and Wickham Market Water Mill, showing the interior workings. Archive footage shows a port, maltings and a disused factory. There are farming shots and the film finishes with Sam Friend singing Jim The Carter's Lad.

Featured Buildings

Castle Mill, Beccles; Peasenhall Windmill; The Ship Inn, Blaxhall; Ransomes Orwell Works, Ipswich; The Southdenes Power Station, Great Yarmouth; The Sole Bay Brewery, Southwold; Horstead Mill, Wickham; Market Water Mill; Pakenham Windmill.

Keywords

Archaeology; agriculture; folk songs; folk traditions; industries

Other Places

Beccles, Suffolk; Leiston, Suffolk; Peasenhall, Suffolk; Blaxhall, Suffolk; Manningtree, Essex; Southwold, Suffolk; Epping, Essex; Marks Tey, Essex; Snettisham, Norfolk; Fakenham, Norfolk; Mistley, Essex; Walpole, Suffolk; Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; Northrepps, Norfolk; Walsingham, Norfolk; Horstead, Norfolk; Pakenham, Suffolk; Wivenhoe, Essex.

Manifestations

Industrial Archaeology in East Anglia


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