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Town Settlement

1934 , Saxmundham (Suffolk)

Cat no. 1333

The geographic and economic features of the town of Saxmundham.

A shot of the countryside around Saxmundham. The commentary explains, with the help of relief maps, why a town grew up on this spot. The map shows how invaders came across the sea and travelled as far up the river Alde as they could. The hills around Saxmundham ensured a good water supply. There is a shot of the river at Saxmundham, now very narrow. A shot of the town. Boys ride bicycles along the street and a car passes. There is a shot of the flint Church. The film explains about the agriculture of the area. A bowler-hatted farmer takes a tractor-drawn plough onto a field. There is ploughing by horse teams and shots of farm buildings followed by shots of the hay cutting known as haysel. Fields of wheat and barley are shown followed by shots of men gathering the harvest. In a field of sugar beet, men pull the beet by hand and then top it with a sharp knife. Animals on the farm include cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks and sheep. There are shots of chicks and lambs in their straw enclosure. The next sequence shows the market in Saxmundham. A woman walks along the lane to market and farmers are shown travelling by car and by horse and cart. Cattle are driven along the lane. There are shots of the cattle market. Cattle and pigs arrive by lorry and the pigs are unloaded. There are shots of the sale of calves and poultry. With the aid of the map, the film shows the three methods of transport around the area, There is a road and then a shot of the river; the port area is now some distance from Saxmundham. A cargo boat is in port. The third method of transport is the railway. A steam train passes through Saxmundham Station. Sugar beet is loaded into a goods wagon.

Featured Buildings

St John the Baptist; Saxmundham

Keywords

Agriculture; Farm animals; Harvesting; Settlements; Transport

Intertitles

Why did a town grow up on this spot? Invaders sailed to England across the North Sea. They stopped when their boats could get no further up the river. The invaders were prevented from going North by a barrier of hills. Rain falling on the hills trickles down the sides and provides a good water supply in the valley. So the invaders settled here. Near the coast the soil is poor. Round the valley is good farming land. It is easy for the farmers to take their goods down-hill to the market at Saxmundham. There are three ways to send goods out of Saxmundham on the South.

Background Information

The farmer wearing the bowler hat is Flloyd Peecock who farmed at Wood Farm, Sibton. These and the other farming shots may also appear in other Gaumont British Instructional films - Farming in Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter and This Was England - directed by Mary Field around 1934 and 1935 and also viewable in this website.

Manifestations

Town Settlement

  • Sequence Details:
    • Group 1:
      • Part Number: 1
      • Parts Unit: Series

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