Filming Dracula in the 1960s and the JayRich group, Annesley

David Amos, Project officer for the HLF funded Annesley Old Church project and a Full Circle supporter, has sent us this post:

We had a fantastic day on Monday (10th December 2012) when a small group of us met at the Acacia Centre in Annesley Woodhouse to view the archive footage of the spoof Dracula films done by the Jayrich Group in the early 1960’s.  In attendance were Mrs and Eddie Newby (Dracula in the film, 86 years young!), Fred Hutchinson (member of the Kirkby Cine Club in the 1960’s), Trevor Lee (Local Film and Media Historian), Mick Pattison (Local film and media enthusiast) and David Amos (Project Officer for the Annesley Old Church Project). 

Eddie Newby was interviewed about the making of the two spoof Dracula films and then the footage from the two films was shown and filmed, with the group discussing various aspects of the making the films over 50 years ago.  Trevor Lee supplied research details of the Jayrich group and Fred Hutchinson brought a collection of vintage movie camera’s.

 

MACE’s Full Circle project made digital copies of the cine films and now preserve the original at the MACE film archive. Plans are in the initial stages for using the footage from the original films in a new production as part of the Annesley Old Church Project (2011-2014).  The Annesley project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and some of the original footage was filmed at Annesley Old Church when it was more intact than the present ruined remains. To find out about the Annesley Church project have a look at his link: http://www.ournottinghamshire.org.uk/page_id__406_path__0p31p33p167p.aspx

 

The Filmed Record and Community History – sharing the experience of finding and using film in the community

Venue for the MACE/CAHG regional conference: The Hive, Worcester photo courtesy HivebyTECU Consulting UK

MACE (Media Archive for Central England),  CAHG (Community Archive Heritage Group) and representatives from the Full Circle History groups joined forces last Thursday to raise awareness of archive film and its importance as a historical resource.  The conference took place at Europe’s first joint university and public library at Worcester called The Hive.

Inside The Hive, Worcester: photo courtesy HiveInsidebyWordShore

Full Circle Senior Curator Kay Ogilvie said: “The conference was enriched by the 6 representatives of community history groups screening the footage they found during their search for film in their communities as part of the Heritage Lottery funded Full Circle Project. Our thanks go to John Holloway of Aston on Trent, Anita Syers-Gibson of North Herefordshire, Sarah Bradley of Belbroughton, David Clark of Fownhope, David Amos of Annesley and Bob Massey of Arnold. The films they found were a fascinating window into history and brought the past alive like no other record.”

Full Circle Film cataloguer Catherine English said: “It was great to hear from people who’ve been involved in Full Circle and the positive impact it has had on their groups which will hopefully continue beyond the lifetime of the project.”

Some comments from participants……….

“MACE, and all the other regional archives are, without doubt, an essential and positive asset to maintaining film as an important element of our regional heritage. The Full Circle project that has engaged communities to seek out their own corner of England Past has, for our village history group, raised the profile of heritage, enabled individuals to acquire new skills and brought a new dimension to community involvement. We hope this project will inspire others to build on its foundations.”  John Holloway Aston on Trent History Group

Anita Syers-Gibson of North Herefordshire History group

“It was fascinating to hear the organisers of other groups explaining how they came to discover long-forgotten cine film collections in their communities and how they used the films for the entertainment and education of their audiences.Frank Dale used his films to entertain local audiences in village halls and pubs, and now, 60 years later, we are doing just the same – and the Full Circle is complete!” Anita Syers-Gibson, North Herefordshire History Group

“Thanks for yesterday – it was useful to get together and to see and hear how other groups had gone about gathering moving images . We dont know how typical the six of us were compared with others – it would have been good to have had a few more there. The venue was certainly impressive – made our self-help village library seem very small !” David and Margaret Clark from Fownhope

Sarah Bradley Belbroughton History Group

“It was interesting the different ways that people had used the old movie footage. The quality was also very good bearing in mind the age of some of the film footage. Many thanks for giving me the opportunity of giving a presentation to the Conference.” David Amos Annesley Project Officer

James Patterson, Director of MACE said: “I have never had any doubt about the potential importance of moving images in the community context or of their ability to add to our understanding of community history. What struck me about the event was the emotional impact that the material had had in the community and how in some cases an involvement with the Full Circle project has had a transformational effect in the community.

I think that the impact of the project is a testament to all the MACE colleagues who have worked on the project to make it so successful and to our community partners who have embraced film so wholeheartedly.”

Media Archive for Central England (MACE) www.macearchive.org  Community Archive Heritage Group (CAHG) http://www.communityarchives.org.uk/  The Hive, Worcester  http://www.thehiveworcester.org/

MACE supports D.H.Lawrence Festival mining heritage talk and bus tour this Sunday 16th September…

Dr David Amos in front of the Headstocks at Annesley Colliery, the pit he worked at for 24 years. This photo was taken on the last day of production on January 30th 2000

Ex coalminer and now academic, Dr David Amos (BA/PGCE-FE/PhD), gave a fascinating talk on the mining heritage of Nottinghamshire on Wednesday at the D.H.Lawrence Heritage Centre, Eastwood, as part of the D.H.Lawrence Festival. David has been helping the Full Circle project to search for film in the area and has found some fascinating mining footage that he was able to incorporate into his mining heritage talk. We at MACE have transferred the original 8mm cine films onto DVD and are storing the originals in our purpose built archive for future generations to enjoy and study.

The last shift for the miners -  The photo dates from 1985 and is taken at Pye Hill No.1 Colliery at Underwood, Notts just prior to its closure in  August 1985

The talk accompanies the Mining Heritage Bus Tour on Sunday – the tour will visit some of the coalmining heritage sites, including Brinsley Headstocks, Underwood, Annesley, Newstead and Digby. It will introduce you to some of the high profile and sometimes controversial characters linked with the former pit sites including Arthur Lawrence (father of D.H.Lawrence), Colin Clarke, Harold Larwood, and George Spencer. To book a place contact David on 01623 457537 or d.amos@ashfield-dc.gov.uk the Festival continues for another week contact the D.H.Lawrence Heritage Centre for more details at Durban House Heritage Centre  Mansfield Road, Eastwood, Nottingham NG16 3DZ 01773 717 353 www.dhlawrenceheritage.org/

 

Film screening of 1930s footage, Ashbourne Friday 7th September, St Oswald’s Church Hall 2.30pm

Scene from the archive film show – Kniveton farming

Come along for a real treat and a trip down memory lane. We will be screening this long lost footage of scenes in and around the village of Kniveton and Ashbourne in Derbyshire.

Stacking the hay – Kniveton 1930s

These films are from the Wright/Ratcliffe collection and date from the 1930s. Shot by Wilfred Ratcliffe, the chauffeur to Mr Wright, they cover the summers of 1935 – 1939 and are a fascinating insight into village life.

This screening is being shown as part of the U3A calendar of events. Please come along and show your support  – all welcome.

Fascinating old footage found of 1930s Kniveton in Derbyshire, film screening this Sunday 2nd September, 2.30pm Kniveton Village Hall

Do you know this person?

This Sunday at Kniveton Village Hall we will be bringing alive old memories of Kniveton in Derbyshire and hoping to identify some of the characters featured in the film. This film collection was found by Peter Frost and was shot by his grandfather Wilfred Ratcliffe in the 1930s. Wilfred was the chauffeur to the Wright family of Kniveton.

We hope to identify some of the people featured in the film…..

This is a fascinating collection of 8mm cine film shot in and around Kniveton and shows scenes of old farming practices and machinery. Shot just before the war the summer was perfect for using scythes to cut hay, making haystacks and threshing. There are scenes shot in the hay meadows of workers drinking tea after a hard day’s work, the village post mistress, the village fete and Kniveton Jubilee shot in 1939. Other footage includes lively scenes of Ashbourne Shrovetide Football match and Stanley Matthews throwing the ball in the 1970s.

Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy this trip down memory lane and also help us identify some of the characters in the film. The screening will be at Kniveton Village Hall, Nr Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1JJ. The hall is next to Kniveton School.

Another Evocative & Thought Provoking Trip Down Memory Lane @_The_Public with Cipher’s Past Lives Tour.

The Public, West Bromwich.

Last Friday I attended another fantastic screening of Cipher’s Past Lives Music to Archive film performance, this time taking place at The Public, in West Bromwich. It was a wonderful opportunity for members of the surrounding West Midlands communities to come and see some of the home-movie film gems that have been found by the Full Circle groups from across the East and West Midlands.

“We all really enjoyed Friday evening’s performance.  You had done an amazing job with the film, touching, amusing, evocative in turns, with some beautiful faces, and really summoning up what it was to live in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.   The music provided a terrific backdrop, really enhancing what was on the screen by creating just the right atmosphere.” Sarah Bradley, Full Circle Depositor

The Public’s Past Lives audience were treated to poetic family scenes from the 1950s to 70s, shots of Balsall Heath William Edward Street, Woodside, Dudley, The Black Country, Town Sparrows, Percy Thrower Gardens in Edgbaston, Hop Farming in Herefordshire, a trip to the East Midlands coast, kamikaze motorcycles, and much much more.

All accompanied by Cipher’s specially composed live musical score.

If you’ve not yet managed to attend a Past Lives event, then try and pop down to:

• 7 July Derby – The Quad, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby DE1 3AS (01332 290606) derbyquad.co.uk
• 8 July Cromford – Gothic Warehouse, The Arkwright Society, Cromford Mills, Mill Lane, DE4 3RQ (01629 823256) arkwrightsociety.org.uk + Workshop
• 19 July Stamford Arts Centre – 27 St. Marys Street, Stamford, PE9 2DL (01780 763 203) stamfordartscentre.com

Watch this space for a Manchester date in September too!

Cipher’s Dave Sturt and Theo Travis with Full Circle Depositor Sarah Bradley and her brother Robert, whose father Christopher Whitcombe’s family films are one of many to play a big part in the Past Lives Performance.

A scene from The Whitcombe Family Film Collection that has been digitised by MACE’s, Heritage Lottery Funded Full Circle film search project.

Photography © Lucie Kerley

“Good morning campers!”…….1960s film of Butlins at night found…..

Night scene – Butlins, Skegness c.1960s

Here’s the latest news on film collections being deposited with the MACE Full Circle project: We’ve just had a call from Shaun Holden whose late father John Holden filmed scenes from their holidays at Butlins, Ingoldmells at Skegness in the 1960s. This was the camp that started it all – Billy Butlin got the idea of holiday villages when he lived in Toronto and brought the concept back to England in 1936.

The John Holden Collection Shaun Holden said his father drove very slowly along the full length of the camp and filmed Butlins at night when it was all lit up. Above and below are some old postcards to give you an idea of what the films may contain (as we haven’t viewed them yet) this postcard is from: http://www.bygonebutlins.com/postcards/skegness/  The Holdens were from Derbyshire and John also filmed all the local beauty spots there including Dovedale, Bakewell, Matlock and Ladybower Reservoir.  John also filmed holidays on the south coast and in Ireland. The Holden collection comprises of 13 reels of Super 8 cinefilm.

This collection is currently at The Boathouse in Mablethorpe stored by our Full Circle group there.  The Boathouse is an old lifeboat station now in use by the community to find out what goes on there have a look at their website: http://www.mablethorpeboatshed.org/ I will be going to Mablethorpe to collect these films to bring them back to the film archive at Lincoln University. The films will be assessed for quality and then carefully stored at the MACE archive in Lincoln in climatically controlled conditions, this will ensure their preservation for the future. Copies of the midlands footage will be made available for the Holden family and the community to share. To find out more about the Full Circle project contact Kay Ogilvie on kogilvie@lincoln.ac.uk or visit http://www.macearchive.org

Rare film footage of 1930s Ilkeston Carnival found………

Paul Booth of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, deposits his father’s cine film collection with MACE film archive as part of the Full Circle project

The Arthur Cyril Booth Collection

Like many of the early filmmakers, Paul Booth’s father – Arthur Cyril Booth (d.1980) took up filmmaking after getting interested in photography. Arthur was the organist for the parish and also played the organ at the La Scala cinema in Ilkeston (still going strong!). Paul said: “My father  was into gadgets of the times –  like for example cine cameras. He filmed on mostly 9.5mm. He was a practical man who in WW1 built aeroplanes – which were made out of fabric then. After the war he became an upholsterer in Ilkeston. He owned a Brough Superior motorbike and used to go biking down to the French Riviera”.

The wedding of amateur filmmaker Arthur Cyril Booth and Cecilia Booth c.1930s

Arthur filmed the Carnivals in Ilkeston in 1936 and 1937 and we’re really looking forward to seeing this footage. He also filmed a pilgrimage to Dale Abbey, Derbyshire and the May Procession, a Lourdes Trip made by members of the Our Lady and St Thomas RC church in Ilkeston. Other footage includes some seaside scenes at Mablethorpe, Wolverhampton Illuminations and his parents wedding. Arthur’s films will be carefully stored at the MACE film archive in temperature controlled conditions so that these original films will be preserved for posterity. As part of the Full Circle project, copies of these films will be made onto DVD for Paul and his family ad the local community to share in this heritage and enjoy past events. If you have any films you wish to preserve please contact Kay Ogilvie, senior curator Full Circle on kogilvie@lincoln.ac.uk

David Amos talks to filmmaker Eddie Newby about the making of the Dracula films in the 1960s…

It’s lovely to catch up with movie makers and actors from the past……..here’s a little clip from an interview with Eddie Newby (on the left) who acted in the Dracula films in the 1960s filmed around  Annesley Old Church in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Eddie not only acted but also filmed in the area –  the building of the M1 underpass at Kirkby in Ashfield, street scenes, shop facades, Whit Sunday parades and pigeon fanciers.

Eddie mentions the JayRich Group – a group made up of friends called Jack and Richard from Kirkby in Ashfield. Here’s a picture of Eddie as Dracula:

Eddie Newby as Dracula in the 1960s film ‘Dracula’ filmed in and around Annesley Old Church, Kirkby in Ashfield.

Eddie’s films are being preserved for future generations to enjoy and learn from and the original super8 cine films are being carefully stored in archival conditions at the MACE film archive. The films have now been digitally transferred onto DVD for the community and Eddie to enjoy as part of the Heritage Lottery funded project called Full Circle, which was developed by MACE.

Annesley Old Church - The 13th century Annesley Old Church is now being conserved thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund.

The funding will pay for restoration work on the site and various events and activities. The Old Church stands alongside Annesley Hall, latterley the home of the Charworths, later to be the Chaworth-Musters Family. The site has historical links not only with the family but with the poet Lord Byron and the author DH Lawrence.

Further details from the Project Officer, David Amos, on (01623) 457537 or d.amos@ashfield-d.c.gov.uk

‘Past Lives’ – Don’t miss this live performance and Full circle archive film this Friday 25th May at Holymoorside, Derbyshire

Dave Sturt, Theo Travis, Clare Bhabra and Deirdre Benscik playing a live film soundtrack to images of the Sarah Bradley film collection

A not-to-be-missed performance is coming to Holymoorside this Friday as part of the Holymoorside and Walton Arts Festival – as well as a workshop to take part in.  

Contact festival office for details and tickets on 01246 567118 or 861997. Renowned musicians Dave Sturt (fretless bass/sound design), Theo Travis (flute, sax), Deirdre Benscik (cello) and Clare Bhabra (violin) play an evocative soundtrack to this fascinating collection of film from the 1930s onwards. Dave and Theo collaborated with visual artist Anthony Hatton to produce this thought provoking and engaging performance.

The films were collected as part of the MACE/Full Circle film search project funded by the Heritage Lottery. For tour dates see http://www.cipher.f9.co.uk/ MACE would like to thank all those who deposited their films as part of this project and contributed to the rich screen heritage of the midlands.

See this link for more information about the performance and workshop and for details of the Festival.

http://www.holymoorsidearts.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92:past-lives&catid=6&Itemid=14

Dave Sturt and Theo Travis

Guest musicians Deirdre Benscik and Clare Bhabra are from the renowned  Sinfonia ViVA.

deirdre Benscik and Clare Bhabra