This compilation of 1930s documentary film includes a short piece on a Hexham Point-to-Point horse race for hunting horses and amateur riders, which took place on 4 April 1931 at Stelling, near Newton, Northumberland. Also included are landscape shots of the waterfall on Devil’s Water, near Hexham; holiday footage in the Lake District; and a record of a grouse shoot, which may have taken place in the North East. This amateur film is part of the Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers’...

This compilation of 1930s documentary film includes a short piece on a Hexham Point-to-Point horse race for hunting horses and amateur riders, which took place on 4 April 1931 at Stelling, near Newton, Northumberland. Also included are landscape shots of the waterfall on Devil’s Water, near Hexham; holiday footage in the Lake District; and a record of a grouse shoot, which may have taken place in the North East. This amateur film is part of the Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers’ Association (ACA) collection. A jockey rides his horse through the crowds at Stelling. Horses jump a fence on the point-to-point course. Title: Evens on the Field In the betting ring at an amateur point-to-point meeting at Stelling, totes (or bookmakers) advertise the odds on offer for each horse in the next race on their display boards. A bowler hatted bookie is beside the Thompson and Danby of Newcastle board advertising the horses Harry V, Random, Strong Melon, Inchberry, Confection, and Jugged Hare. Another bookmaker stands next to a Jim Forbes bookmakers’ board, with a portable betting machine slung around his neck. A man places a bet with the bookie from Thompson and Danby, as other punters, one in a bowler hat, glance at the boards in passing. A trainer (or owner) wearing a bowler hat chats to two jockeys on horseback. Three young girls in cloche hats nearby are watching the pre-race preparation. General view of a crowd of men and women gathering near the course, a marquee in the background. A young woman in a cloche hat and fur-trimmed coat examines her racing form. Title: Have a little each way A jockey pats his horse, and leans over to talk to a man in a bowler hat. Title: In the Paddock A man (owner or trainer) is holding one of the race horses for a jockey who is getting ready to mount. A few casual onlookers lounge around at the edge of the paddock. Trainers walk horses around the paddock before the race and another jockey is helped to mount, spectators crowded at the fence. Back at the betting ring, bookmakers stand beside their display boards, one for Fred Collins. A bowler-hatted gent with a Gladstone bag for takings slung across one shoulder is beside another display board advertising the odds on Banjo, Pantaleon, Cousin Mack, Brown Bee and Brutus. A punter in a flat cap smoking a cigarette passes close to camera. Title: Exchanging Confidences Punters are placing last bets with the bookmakers. The racecourse board displays horses’ numbers with names, which include D. Barnet, F. Harrison, F. Blackett, R. Blackett, and R. Starker. A row of 30s cars are parked in a row in the background. A racegoer with a monocular tucked under his arm consults his race form. Shots follow of more bookmakers and punters, including a display board for Phil Boag. A jockey walks his horse through a gate onto the race course. Other race horses and jockeys begin to assemble. Title: The Start and First Jump General view of horses and riders racing up the course at the start of the point-to-point, and making the first jump. They head into the distance on this open field course. Back near a marquee, crowds mill around. Three women in smart fur-collared and full fur coats and cloche hats rest on seat sticks, accompanied by a standing gentleman looking out across the field. Title: The Finish and Judges’ Box A horse jumps the last fence on the point-to-point course at Stelling and races to the finish line. Spectators line the course route. After the race, two jockeys walk their horses back to the paddock. Judges are standing on a makeshift platform with flagpole. A horse and rider approach. A trainer ties a bandage around a horse’s ankle. Riders walk their horses through the paddock and horses are blanketed by trainers. Title: Devil’s Water near Hexham General views of the waterfall on Devil’s Water, near Hexham, a tributary of the River Tyne. Close-ups of snowdrops follow. Title: In the Lake District On a family outing, a group of three women and a man walk up the steps at the famous Boulder Stone in Borrowdale, the Lake District. One of the women rests on a roadside stone wall and poses for a photograph taken by the man, whilst the other two women watch. The four get into their open-top car. Various shots follow of a sheep and its young lamb. At another site, a man fishes from a rowing boat in a fast running river, a second man steadying the boat with oars. The three women and male companion watch from the bank of the river. The scene cuts to a busy meeting point in Cumbria for motorbikes and cycles, parked up in a field whilst owners gather to chat, two men standing beneath a tree to watch. Title: Grouse Shooting A grouse shoot takes place sometime around 1930. Workers at the grouse shoot hold horses for gentlemen grouse shooters. A keeper in a flat cap with shotgun under his arm walks by. A gentleman in a tweed jacket stands with a keeper in a shooting butt (a hide screened by a stone wall) on the grouse moor. Portrait shot of the grouse shooter holding his gun. General view of the row of shooting butts. The gentleman in tweed jacket cocks his shotgun. Various shots follow of him shooting grouse. Shot of a gun pointed at birds in flight. General view of grouse beaters at work on the moors, flushing out the birds. A gentleman waits with his gun and gun dog. Grouse hunters and dogs search the moors for shot birds. Close-up of a dead grouse laid out on the grass. A keeper turns over the bird. Another shoot worker leads a horse with panniers past camera. The shooting party of smartly dressed men and women make their way back from the grouse moors. Various shots follow of the beaters, including young boys, reclining on the grass after the morning shoot, eating. The horses also rest nearby. Back on the grouse moors for another drive, the shooting party of gentlemen, beaters and keepers head back for more shooting. The hunters shoot from the butts, whilst keepers reload alternate guns. A beater works on the moors. Portrait shot of the dapper gentleman shooter previously seen, smoking a cigarette. Beaters and shooters head back across the moorland. The gentleman shooter carries a dead grouse in his hand. Smiling, one of the keepers examines the wings of a brace of dead grouse. A woman in a kilt looks around the moor for shot grouse. A dog fetches a dead grouse to the woman. General view of the shooting party recovering their prey. The shooting party gather around their “bag”, one of the keepers counting dead birds. The grouse are loaded into the horses’ panniers. The boys hired for the shoot are again seated on the moorland grass, resting. A grouse hunter stands clutching a brace of grouse. The group include a woman smoking a cigarette and two young girls are watching nearby at the end of the shoot. Title: The End