Metadata
WORK ID: YFA 3087 (Master Record)
| Title | Year | Date |
| SHEFFIELD LAKELAND | 1963 | 1963-01-01 |
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Details
Original Format: 16mm Colour: Colour Sound: Sound Duration: 53 mins 9 secs Credits: An Ughill Production - Presented by G. E. Gainsford. Subject: Sport Religion |
| Summary This film documents the area around Bradfield, the reservoir area near Sheffield, and the year according to various religious festivals such as Christmas and the Harvest Festival. |
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Description
This film documents the area around Bradfield, the reservoir area near Sheffield, and the year according to various religious festivals such as Christmas and the Harvest Festival.
This film opens with a title card - An Ughill Production - Presented by G. E. Gainsford.
On a crisp, sunny morning the countryside is completely covered with snow. There is a lane which as been cleared by which travellers can pass, and the whole of the countryside can be seen through panning shots. There is a...
This film documents the area around Bradfield, the reservoir area near Sheffield, and the year according to various religious festivals such as Christmas and the Harvest Festival.
This film opens with a title card - An Ughill Production - Presented by G. E. Gainsford.
On a crisp, sunny morning the countryside is completely covered with snow. There is a lane which as been cleared by which travellers can pass, and the whole of the countryside can be seen through panning shots. There is a view of the lake, and the commentary explains it is festive season as well.
The song Silent Night begins to play, and there is a Christmas tree which is decorated as well as the inside of a church. A miniature manger scene is set up as well. A men and boys choir, members dressed in robes, sings a hymn for the church ceremony on one side of the church, and a group of nuns on the other side can also be seen singing along. Children from the congregation bring up wrapped presents to be put under the tree. These presents will be later distributed to different families as an act of church charity.
After the church service there is a party in the village hall. Much of the community is gathered for this event dancing in the hall, and according to the commentary, it is a popular winter pastime. Some of the couples dancing are dressed in their Sunday best while others are dressed in costume. Many of the older members of the community are seated around the perimeter of the dance floor watching the festivities. Finally, there is a fancy dress parade, and all those in costume are lined up at the end for judging, after which there is more dancing.
It is spring time at a home in the country, and there is a small boy posing with the daffodils. There is a field of daffodils around the house, and many other flowers are featured as well. At Ughill Woodside there is a view of the countryside and the lake looking towards Sheffield and Loxley Valley. There is a balancing tank from Damflask and the overflow from the reservoir. In the reservoir can be seen reflections of the countryside from all different angles. There are a few small sailboats in the lake, and fishermen set up along the embankment. The Viking Yacht Club found the reservoir an attraction of the region, and many of the yachters take their boats out.
In Low-Bradfield down in the valley, the sports field is the centre of attraction, and there is a cricket game on. Many cottages line the lane which leads up to the church, and three small children sit on a blanket outside one of the doors of the cottage. The church is mostly 15th century, but many parts of it date from much earlier. Inside, the alter is decorated for the Easter season with vases full of lilies on either side of the cross. Other spring flowers are around the church to add to the decoration. Additionally there is a christening ceremony which is taking place at the old fount of the church. There are three families gathered around with their babies who will be baptised. While the priest is baptising one of the children, the families gathered around are joining him in prayer as he pours water from the fount over the baby.
Down the winding road from the church is the sports field. Many people from the town have turned out to watch the cricket match which is on. There is also a Bowling Green at which many older men are playing. Nearby the Bowling Green is the post office outside of which the wives of the men bowling are seated at a picnic bench sewing and knitting while their husbands play in the match.
Back in the countryside and now summer time, a large estate house, Wood Hall, has a large landscaped garden consisting of a variety of flowers and plants. At the church, there is a wedding taking place. The commentator explains that the Gillett family, one of the families participating in the ceremony, can be traced back for hundreds of years and appears in the town registrar as early as 1575. The bridesmaid waits outside of the church for the arrival of the bride. The bride and her father arrive at the church, pause outside for a moment in order to fix the bride’s dress, and then enter the church for the ceremony. After, the newlyweds pose in front of the church for pictures, first just them, and then with the wedding party. Family and friends are gathered around watching. But before the pictures are finished being taken, it begins to rain, and the bride is supplied with an umbrella.
In June, it is time for the Children’s Sports Day. There are two children (one Black and one South Asian) who are standing posed for the camera eating popsicles. The children of the community then participate in a number of races at the end of which one little girl is in tears because she did not win the race. In addition to the regular races, there is also a sack race and an egg and spoon race. During the events, there are many spectators seated on the grass around the sports grounds. At the end of the races, the judges have to sort out the winners, and when that is done, it is time for one final egg and spoon race for the mothers and grandmothers in which to compete.
Bus tours are popular around the Sheffield Lakeland, and one of the tour buses can be seen driving on the road towards the countryside to embark on one of these tours. The bus stops at various places throughout the countryside which provide very nice overall views of the area. It is close to the last sunlight of the day, and the church tower, as well as portions of the surrounding area and graveyard, is lit in the warm glow of the sun. The rocks in the hills are also a glow with the setting sun, and the light can also be seen in Agden Reservoir. Additionally, in the middle of the wooded land, Agden Lodge is on the hillside.
In Ewden village, at More Hall Reservoir a Yacht Club has set up there also and has many boats on the water. The Bennett’s House is a local estate house which was built from stones of old farm houses which used to be on the same site. Additionally there is a tower which is a popular landmark and serves as a look out for the area. Down in the village and towards Low Bradfield, there is a stone bridge by which traffic can cross some of the smaller rivers and streams which flow into the reservoirs.
At the annual garden party at the Rectory, the children, in fancy dress, are gathered with their families and other members of the community. Mr. Frank Homes opens the ceremony making a speech to the guests with leaders of the community and church seated at either side of him. Mrs. Chadwick then receives a bouquet of flowers, makes a speech, and crowns the new queen. She also presents a badge to a boy who will be the new school captain. All are then posed together for a picture, and with the threat of rain, the umbrellas are soon opened all over the party. Although this does not stop the children as they continue to dance around.
There are more views of the countryside, and during an early evening walk, a couple make their way towards the water and point out the good views of the water. Elsewhere in the countryside, there is a small glass house in which a family is sitting having a meal. A variety of flowers are then featured, and a rainbow can be seen stretching across the countryside after a summer shower.
It is now harvest season and time to make hay. The bailer is at work, and while a man uses the machine which makes bails, another man walks around the field raking together the remaining hay. Also, the women workers of the farm walk around the field and gather the bails of hay into different groups. The work day then ends with a picturesque sunset. The next day requires work in the wheat field in order to gather the rest of the harvest.
During a Sunday morning in autumn, it is time for the Harvest Festival at the church. A man can be seen ringing the bells of the church signalling the beginning of the service. Inside, the alter is decorated with autumn flowers, and the choir, made up of young boys and men, sing the opening hymns. Offerings, brought up by different members of the congregation, are brought up to the alter and presented to the priest. These gifts consist of flowers, different fruits and vegetables, and a large loaf of bread shaped as a bushel of wheat. These gifts are then put on display around the church before the film closes with a title - The End.
Context
This film of the Bradfield area around Sheffield, made in 1963, was made by a Mr G. E. Gainsford, who lived at Ughill Hall and who provides the narration – making the film under the name of ‘Ughill Productions’. A prominent local member of the Bradfield and Ughill community – he was the Chairman of Bradfield Parish Council around that time – the intention of Gainsford may have simply been to make a film of a year in the life of the local area and community. But without more information this...
This film of the Bradfield area around Sheffield, made in 1963, was made by a Mr G. E. Gainsford, who lived at Ughill Hall and who provides the narration – making the film under the name of ‘Ughill Productions’. A prominent local member of the Bradfield and Ughill community – he was the Chairman of Bradfield Parish Council around that time – the intention of Gainsford may have simply been to make a film of a year in the life of the local area and community. But without more information this is only speculation. Some time ago a video was made of the film, possibly under the title of “The Four seasons of Bradfield”.
Although short films of a similar nature were not that uncommon during the 1950s and 1960s, both at the cinema and on TV, something of this length would be. Going to the cinema at that time one could see short newsreels made by film companies Gaumont, British Movietone and Pathe. The Pathe films perhaps have the closest resemblance, as with the 1963 film English Country Scenes, and the series Britain by Jove with Ray Alan and Lord Charles, from 1960, which cover similar subjects. But these newsreels would normally be current affairs items, or educational shorts, not long documentary type films. On TV, something similar might be the John Betjeman twelve short films about the West Country made between 1962 and 1964 for Television Wales and the West (TWW), which have recently been rediscovered. Betjeman also made thirty two short commercial films for Shell, between 1955 and 1956 – including Discovering Britain – based on his earlier books, and three British Transport films, that all highlight the British countryside. These were followed up by many films made for the BBC during the 1960s and 1970s – twenty six in total. However, Sheffield Lakeland does not quite have the witty and ironic observations that Betjeman brought to his films. Other British Transport Films that feature the countryside and the changing seasons include Journey into Spring, made in 1957 with a commentary by Laurie Lee. The accompanying music to Sheffield Lakeland suggests something else: one of the documentaries that Ken Russell made on composers, especially the one on Elgar for the 100th edition of the TV programme Monitor, which was broadcast in November 1962. It was usually amateur filmmakers who were most interested in capturing their locality and its events. But even then, to take in a whole year and make it into a coherent whole shows an ambition that is rare. The approach of the film gives it a professional feel, as if it was meant for a promotional purpose; although unfortunately the sound quality is poor. But the film does not quite have the feel of a publicity film; rather it reflects the simple love of the place that the filmmaker clearly has. The reference to Elgar is appropriate as Gainsford uses Elgar in the film, along with other British light music of the time – all of which have been used to evoke a sense of a certain kind of Britishness and British traditions. The film focuses on traditions, both local and national. At the heart of this one would expect to find the Anglican Church with its yearly calendar, services and liturgy – especially in an English village. Linked in with this are the major seasonal agricultural events and the village sports day, cricket and bowling – all activities that bring together the local community. The bringing together of harvest and the Harvest Day Festival show how the Church took over traditional pagan ceremonies. The celebration of harvest in verse can be found as early as Thomas Trusser’s rhyming treatise of 1573. By all accounts these celebrations were accompanied with plenty of eating and drinking. Some social historians have claimed that it was in response to the latter that the Church, starting in Morwenstow in Cornwall in 1843, gradually started to perform services at harvest time and hence the advent of the Harvest Festival. Indeed Bradfield – which divides up into High Bradfield, Low Bradfield and Bradfield Dale – has an interesting history that points both to its ‘Englishness’ and to foreign influences – although of course the two are completely intertwined: the word ‘England’ derives from the Viking (Danish) spelling of Angles (from an area of Germany, Angelen). It is believed that the church of St. Nicholas in High Bradfield stands on the site of an ancient Anglo-Saxon place of worship, and that the hamlet of Ughill has connections with William the Conqueror, with Normans settling in the area as yeoman farmers. There are also claimed connections to King John, the Knights Hospittallers of Jerusalem and Robin of Loxley (Robin Hood). With the Rivers Loxley, Don and Rivelin passing through the parish, it isn’t surprising that many cutlery making workshops developed in the area during the industrial revolution. And this development links in with the three ‘lakes’ – which are in fact reservoirs: Dale Dyke, Agden and Damflask. The large amount of water required by Sheffield in the early nineteenth century led to the formation of the Sheffield Waterworks Company and a plan to build four large reservoirs in the hills surrounding Bradfield – the 'Bradfield Scheme'. The first to begin construction was Dale Dyke Dam, when work commenced on 1st January 1859. However, this was to have disastrous consequences when the dam broke on Friday the 11th March 1864 and six hundred and fifty million gallons of water roared down the Loxley Valley and into Sheffield. A total of 240 people living in the wake of the flood were killed. This of course is a long time ago, and although not mentioned in the film, is now part of the fascination of the area for the many walkers who enjoy the landscape. And despite the passing of time, those who now live in the Parish of Bradfield would no doubt still recognise many of the landmarks and events depicted in the film. Not least would be the singing in St Andrew’s Church – which featured in a recently published book on the 100 best churches in Britain. Today it is the centre of the Bradfield Festival of Music, which after over a century and a half was revived in 1998, and continues under the direction of Julian Lloyd Webber. Although the film has a parochial perspective, the images of non-white children and the demonstrations of church charity suggest that the filmmaker does not want it to appear as if the local community is too insular. Today the motor car has meant that villages like Bradfield have become home for commuters working in the cities. The change in the character of village communities has meant that the Church of England plays a less central role in modern life; and this change has led to some in the Church to call for a review of its function, and a reform of its practices. (With thanks to Malcolm Nunn, Bradfield Parish Archivist) References Ronald Hutton, The stations of the sun: a history of the ritual year in Britain, Oxford University Press, 1996. Charles Knightly, The Customs and Ceremonies of Britain: an encyclopaedia of living traditions, Thames and Hudson, London, 1986. Andrew Shanks, Civil Society, Civil Religion, Blackwell, Oxford, 1995. Bradfield Parish Website Bradfield Festival of Music Further Information John Crook and T.W.T. Tatten-Brown, The English Church: England’s 100 Finest Parish Churches, New Holland Publishers, 2005. Malcolm Nunn, Loxley Valley and Beyond Through Time, Amberley Publishing, 2009 |
