At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 36,000 film and sound recordings relating to Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including film and tapes of local TV and radio.
This film is part of Free
Construction at Portsmouth Polytechnic
Portsmouth Polytechnic is about to rise from its foundations in this short 1968 film from George Sloane - and there isn't a hard hat to be seen
From the collection of:
Overview
This short film starts at a building site on which the new Portsmouth Polytechnic is about to be built. The demolished remains of previous buildings can be seen as diggers begin to excavate new foundations. Steel cages wait for their concrete infill as a batch of girders arrives on the site. After more views of the open building site we see two construction workers attacking older concrete structures with pneumatic drills.
Established in 1969, Portsmouth Polytechnic was the successor to the city's College of Technology. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Polytechnic expanded rapidly and by offering an increased number of syllabuses attracting more and more students, the institution became one of the largest polytechnics in the UK. The 1992 Further and Higher Education Act granted the Polytechnic university status. It thus became the University of Portsmouth and under the terms of the 1992 Act could validate its own academic degrees.
Related
Watch for free
Foundation of Beauty Foundation of Beauty
Advert 1930 8 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
The Foundation of Beauty is what lies beneath - as this parade of corsetted ladies reveal - with corsets to suit all shapes, sizes and ages
Watch for free
Key Key
Advert 1930 10 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
This enjoyable 1930s info-mercial shows how you can furnish your home -and have that dream kitchen - by using the PIMCO easy payment plan
Watch for free
H.M.S. "Powerful" Arriving in Portsmouth Harbour H.M.S. "Powerful" Arriving in Portsmouth Harbour
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
A mighty naval cruiser returns home to Britain, covered in glory - and Nelson's ship is there to welcome it
Watch for free
H.M.S. Powerful Moored at Portsmouth H.M.S. Powerful Moored at Portsmouth
Non-Fiction 1900 0 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
Take a good look at one of the era's largest warships - the hefty H.M.S. Powerful, back from the Boer War
Watch for free
Portsmouth Guildhall Square Portsmouth Guildhall Square
Amateur film 1976 4 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
All sorts of building styles sit cheek-by-jowl in Portsmouth's redeveloped Guildhall Square - as George Sloane's mid 1970s film shows
Watch for free
Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill Portsmouth from Portsdown Hill
Amateur film 1962 4 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth
From the heights of Portsdown Hill you get a view of sixties Portsmouth and the distant Isle of Wight in this short film from F Howard.
Watch for free
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
Watch for free
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Watch for free
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Watch for free
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Watch for free
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Watch for free
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.