Moving History - a guide to UK film and television archives in the public sector

Northern Region Film and Television Archive

The Archive

The Northern Region Film and Television Archive was created in 1998. Its aims are to develop, preserve and provide access to collections of moving images (as recorded on film, videotape and digital formats) either made in, or relating to the Northern Region of England. The archive collects audio-visual media on all aspects of life and work in the areas of Teesside, Tyne and Wear, Cumbria, County Durham and Northumbria and its offices and collections are based at the University of Teesside in Middlesborough.

The Collection

The Northern Region Film and Television Archive contains over 36,000 hours of moving image material relating to the history, landscape and people of the Northern Region of England. The collections include television news, documentary, regional and arts programming, amateur films, corporate promotional and advertising films, information and educational material. Approximately half of the archive’s collection is made up of regional television holdings from the BBC and the ITV regional station Tyne Tees. Two other substantial collections within the archive are the Turners collection of documentary, educational and commercial films from the 1940s to the 80s, and the Trade Films collection of documentaries and community films from the late 1960s to early ‘90s. Other smaller collections making up the archive’s holdings include amateur home movie and commercial films collections.

Places

In the Northern Region Film and Television Archive, the industrial and urban landscape of the region is strongly represented in the film and television collections. In particular, this includes images of the coal industry in Newcastle and shipbuilding areas such as Gateshead, Sunderland, and Barrow-in-Furness. The city of Newcastle is also well represented in the collection, particularly because the BBC and Tyne & Wear regional television stations are based there and have therefore tended to cover that area more extensively. The Turners and Trade film companies were also based at Newcastle and represent significant collections in the archive. The rural coastal, agricultural and park land of the Northern region are also well represented in the archive's collection including rural towns such as Berwick-upon-Tweed, and the countryside of Northumberland and the Lake District in Cumbria.

'Snapshots in Berwick' (1928)
a 'local topical' film showing streets, local scenes and people around Berwick-upon-Tweed
'Look North' - Cannon Street
BBC footage from the flagship regional current affairs programme 'Look North' showing the controversial demolition and re-building of the Cannon Street area of Middlesbrough which displaced existing urban communities from the city centre

Subjects and periods

The archive's collections illustrate Northern English social history through television and film coverage of the regions people and landscape. Strengths of the collection include film and television images of families and communities, the workplace, transport, leisure, events and the industrial and rural heritage of the region. The archive's collection spans the twentieth century with the bulk of the archive's holdings dating from the 1950s onwards through the television and documentary holdings.

Industry - Areas of the Northern region of England have been the home to many heavy industries such as iron and steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, coal mining, nuclear energy and chemical industries. Many films and television items in the archive reflect this industrial heritage including the Trade Films collection much of which is focused on the political and industrial aspects of the North East. The shipbuilding industry on the Tyne and on Teesside has been a especially strong feature in the history of industry in the North East and is covered extensively in the archive's collection. Film and television material in the collection looking at shipbuilding includes for example company promotional films, film of ship launches, and documentaries and news items on the heyday and decline of the industry. There are also many films and television items on the region's coal industry including educational and promotional films on coal mining as well as news items on miners’ strikes and colliery closures.

'From Raw Material to Finished Product' (1935)
a film documenting the production of steel for the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from the mining of the Iron ore to the construction of the bridge
'A Ship Is Born' (1951)
a film by the Sunderland Education Authority about the construction of a ship on the River Wear at Sunderland following the process from planning to launch
'Birth of a Giant' (1972)
film on the launch of a giant steel tanker at the Vickers yard in industrial Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria

Transport - The archive holds many items in its collection illustrating the construction and use of transport in the region, including trams, buses, cars, railways, and shipping. The television collection includes a great deal of material on the region's railway infrastructure in the 1960s and 70s on the mainline east coast. The Turner's film collection also includes educational and promotional material on transport issues.

'Going Places' (1954)
a promotional film about the Sunderland Bus Corporation, featuring the passengers, drivers and conductors as well as showing the landscape of the Sunderland region
'Closure of Waverley Line' (1967)
from the BBC collection, this item includes footage of the last train to travel on the line from Newcastle to Glasgow passing through the remote west Northumbrian moorland, and in particular the town of Riccarton which was eventually abandoned and became derelict

Rural life - The Northern region contains large areas of unspoilt coastal rural and agricultural landscape, including the Lake District in Cumbria, rural Berwick-upon-Tweed, the North Pennines and national park land in Northumberland. Although the collection has a strong industrial focus, agricultural and rural subjects are also well covered in the archive. This includes film of agricultural work and practices, rural fishing fleets and the wildlife, countryside and landscape of the rural Northern region. Films in the collection include for example, promotional films advertising the rural aspects of the region, amateur film capturing the landscape and scenery, and documentaries, training films and other items made by production company, Turners. Television news and programming in the archive also includes items on issues that affect the rural areas such as the 1967 foot and mouth outbreak, flooding, and fox hunting issues. The decline of rural communities and villages surrounding the failing coal mines of County Durham, labelled "category D" villages, was also covered on news and current affairs programmes.

'Berwick-upon-Tweed' (1945)
this amateur film shot in colour by a Middlesbrough dentist shows a small fishing boat returning with its catch of the day
'A River Speaks' (1947)
this twenty minute film on rural Tyneside was written and narrated by South Shields born actress Flora Robson
'Turn of the Tap' (1975)
a Turners' production describing the launch of the Northumbrian Water Authority and its plan to create the seven-mile long Kielder reservoir in the Borders country, providing fresh water supplies to the Tyne, Wear and Tees
Outward Bound Trust collection (1950s-1970s)
the lake and mountain landscape of Cumbria is illustrated in these films by an outward bound school which took children from urban areas on rambling and climbing trips

Family life and leisure - The region's family life and community leisure activities have been captured on amateur films, in local newsreel footage, in tourist promotional films, and on television. Family films in the collection for example, show scenes of school sports days, outings to the seaside, and holidays abroad, as well as scenes of every day life in the home. Local newsreel films and other items in the collection have captured scenes of communities at leisure for example at social outings, at sports fixtures, and enjoying war-time entertainment.

'Newcastle vs Sunderland FA Cup fourth round replay' (27 March 1913)
film of a football match, the earliest film from the region held in the archive’s collection
'West End Aged Poor's Outing To Little Benton' (1923)
an annual trip of over 1000 elderly people to Little Benton for dances and games
'Redcar for Holidays' (1934)
an amateur film of Redcar with local scenes of horse drawn trams, deckchairs on the beach, the pier, a puppet show, pleasure gardens and bathers at an outdoor pool. Shot in the newly launched Dufaycolor process, it is probably the earliest colour footage produced in this area.
'Holidays at Home' (1944)
This colour film was shot by a Gateshead police officer and records the public response to a government campaign urging people to take their ‘Holidays at Home’ in order to keep the railways free for D-Day preparations., It shows local people at leisure in Gateshead, including US Servicemen dancing in Saltwell Park.

Regional events - The archive holds a number of films that have captured events of importance to the region or which convey a sense of its social history. These include film of visiting dignitaries and royalty such as the official opening of the Tees Bridge in the 1935 by the Duke and Duchess of York, the Queen visiting Newcastle in 1954 and the Queen Mother in Gateshead in 1959. The archive also holds extraordinary footage of Martin Luther King at Newcastle University in 1967 receiving an honorary degree. Other events and occasions recorded in the archive include celebrations, ship launches, parades and shows, including the home guard celebrating their third anniversary in Kendal and VE day celebrations in Newcastle.

'Duke and Duchess of York at the opening of the new Tees Bridge' (1935)
the royal visitors are shown arriving for the official opening of the bridge
'Middlesbrough Mayor's Sunday' (1933)
film showing the major and local dignitaries on parade
'Martin Luther King receives an honorary degree at Newcastle University' (1968)
this film includes a remarkable speech given by the renowned civil rights leaderFuture acquisitions - As the archive becomes established at its new premises, it is intended that new connections and relationships will be forged with television and film production companies who are making new material now, to enable the acquisition of newly generated films and programmes for the archive.

Production types

Amateur film - The archive has a growing collection of amateur films made by individuals and groups from the region. Amateur film-makers often filmed scenes of their families at home as well as filming holidays and occasions. Amateur film-makers and local cine societies also made films of local scenes and regional events as well as making short amateur fiction films. Amateur films in the collection include short dramas and fiction by local cine camera societies such as the Teeside Cine Club. Individual film-makers who's collections are now held in the archive include the films of Anne Rowan, whose good quality colour family films date from the 1930s and 40s. The many films made by keen amateur film-maker and Dentist T.H.Brown from the 1920s to the 60s are also held in the archive. The archive holds a handful of other sizeable amateur family collections and many more individual items made by amateurs in the region.

'A Picnic on the Green Sward' (1929)
a send-up of British film acting in the 1920s, this amateur 'melodrama' by T.H. Brown from 1929 features 'a lover's quarrel', a robbery and a happy ending
'Painless Extractions' (1946)
this colour film by dentist Brown, shows the extraction of his son’s front teeth. Mr Brown made many recordings of family and regional events on 9.5mm and 16mm film.
Rowan Collection, reel 14 (1947)
film showing sports day activities is one of the many films by the Rowan family often showing their foreign travels as well as places and activities in the region

Television - The archive's collection of television material includes items from the BBC dating from the 1950s to the 80s, and independent television broadcasts from Tyne Tees from the 1970s to the 80s. The BBC material consists mainly of footage from the Northern Regional News programme Look North as well as some sports coverage. Regional news items range from covering serious issues such as the effect of strikes and pit closures in the coal industry or the foot and mouth crisis in rural areas, to more eccentric subjects such as the arrival of the 'Superloo' in Gateshead or reactions towards the new fashion for hot-pants in Newcastle. Tyne Tees Television output in the collection contains arts programming, documentaries, regional and current affairs programmes, dramas and childrens programmes amongst others. This collection includes programmes such as the regional series 'Northern Scene' and the childrens programme 'Mad About'. Also in this collection is material from the landmark music series 'The Tube', made for Channel 4 in the 1980s.

Let’s Go to the Movies' (1967)
this item is from the newsreel Mining Review, which was produced by the National Coal Board between 1947 and 1981 for showing in colliery canteens and cinemas in mining communities. It describes the work of a mineworker’s daughter in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, said to be the only female chief projectionist in the country.
'Last Men Only Pub in Sunderland' (1974).
this item from Look North reports on the closure of the last pub in Sunderland which refused to admit women. It includes interview footage with the landlord and regular customers, who exhibit mixed feelings about the pub’s impending relaunch as a ‘mixed sex’ venue.
'Middlesbrough Carpet Shop Murder' (1972).
another Look North piece in which veteran reporter Luke Casey notes the forthcoming demolition of a shop in Newport Road which was the scene of a brutal (and to this day) unsolved murder fourteen years earlier

Corporate and promotional films - The archive holds a number of promotional and advertising films from companies and organisations based in the region. These include promotional films made for shipbuilding firms such as Vickers, Swan Hunter, and Vosper Thornycroft as well as films from the National Coal Board and other large industrial firms. The archive also holds advertising material from other firms in the region such as Rington's Tea, and tailoring firm Colliers. Civic organisations have also produced promotional film material advertising tourist areas or promoting civic developments and services in the region including the Tyne and Wear Development Board, and Newcastle City Council.

'Your Tea Madam' (1932)
this advertisement made for Rington's Tea Limited by Turners Films shows the tea being packaged and delivered in Byker, Newcastle by horse and cart to the doorstep.
'Movies for You' 1955
this film produced for Bell & Howell advertises their cine camera for the amateur market
'Cut To Perfection' (1970s)
this advertising film, again by Turners, promotes men's tailoring from Colliers

Educational films - A great proportion of the archive's collection is made up of educational material. Turners Films form the largest single collection in the archive and they produced a many educational films from the 1940s to the mid 80s.

'Parsons: Genius of Power' (1952)
a 32-minute film describing the life and achievements of Charles Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine, whose work paved the way for much of the technology found in steamships and modern power stations.
'Future Craftsmen' (1969)
a documentary produced by Vickers about life in their training school at Barrow-in-Furness, intended for showing to schoolchildren considering a career in shipbuilding.

Key film-makers and film-making sources in the collection

Turners collection – a film company who produced educational films, documentaries, training films and commercials from 1946 to 1985 which includes some seven to eight thousand items now held in the archive.
Trade Films – a major film production company in the region recording the political and industrial heritage of the North East. They make political documentaries, information films and community films, mostly relating to the mining industry in the North East.
Mr TH Brown was one of the pioneers of amateur film-making and the cine club movement in the Northern region and has a substantial collection of films in the archives dating from the 1920s to the 60s

Other related collections

The major country record offices in the region – Tyne and Wear Archives Service (TWAS), the Northumberland Record Office, Cumbria Archives Service and Teesside Archives – contain photographic and document holdings related to material in the NRFTA.

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