For many, the local area and its heritage are a great source of pride and it is both a privilege and a joy to be able to visit museums and archives to see first-hand the objects that compose local history. But what if a piece of that history could be taken home? Such a thing has been unthinkable, until now.
In 2010, the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service began screening a series of video presentations using footage from its film and sound archive. These shows, held at the Treasure House, Beverley, were extremely popular, with over 500 people in attendance, and in answer to many requests to buy the presentations, the service has now made them available to own on DVD.
The series, entitled ‘Film and Sound Archive Presents…’ contains eight one-hour presentations covering various aspects of the historic East Riding, including Beverley industry, the railways around Market Weighton in the 50s and 60s before Dr Beeching, and some of the first colour film showing Beverley in the 1960s, with a soundtrack of recordings by local bands of that period.
The flagship presentation however, is Black and White Beverley, which features the films of Ernest Symmons, former proprietor of Beverley Picture Playhouse. Amongst the footage is the ‘Beverley Through The Ages’ pageant procession of 1937; the first road safety film to be made outside of London, entitled ‘The Man With The Notebook’ in 1946 and ‘War Weapons Week’ and other fundraising events held in Beverley during the Second World War to collect money for the war effort.
Sam Bartle, collections officer, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to own a piece of local history; it allows older people the chance to reminisce and the younger ones to learn about the local area. It’s the ideal stocking-filler for grandma or granddad at Christmas.”
The DVDs are available to buy from the Beverley Treasure House gallery, near the library, on Champney Road, Beverley. Prices are £5.99 per disc, or a discounted £35 for the full set of eight presentations.
