The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free

Costa del Coal
Mad, bad' poet Lord Byron and a lobster thermidor feature in a melancholy tour of Seaham with popular TV presenter Johnny Morris.
From the collection of:

Overview
It's a coastline that leaves the Costa del Sol standing, perspiring, but it is doomed to be forever the Costa del Coal.' Presenter Johnny Morris is in a melancholy mood on a tour of the fading harbour and town of Seaham, which 'fell asleep' in the 30s, and owes its life and death to coal. The harsh lives of miners are chiselled into the epitaphs on local graves but he notes signs of hope for a revival in the town, especially when he tucks into a tasty local lobster thermidor.
This early 70s Tyne Tees TV documentary on Seaham harbour and environs is tinged with children's television presenter Johnny Morris's nostalgia for his home town in South Wales, also a victim to the fortunes of coal mining. Seaham town and port were originally developed by Charles Stewart, the 3rd. Marquess of Londonderry, to better manage his coal industry. The fate of the East Durham mines was finally sealed in the decade after the divisive miners' strike of 1984. Work at Dawdon Colliery ended in 1991. As this fascinating documentary reveals, Seaham Hall was once the home of a 'prophet of the computer age', Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke and infamous poet Lord Byron.
Related

Seaham Bathing Belles Seaham Bathing Belles
Amateur film 1963 4 mins Silent Location: Seaham
Making a splash with the breakfast club regulars of the Seaham Harbour Amateur Swimming Club.

Seaham Harbour 1899 Seaham Harbour 1899
Non-Fiction 1899 2 mins Silent Location: Seaham
Victorian County Durham celebrates the construction of Seaham Pier in a formal ceremony.

Over There Over There
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 4 mins
A jobless woman sells her body to enter the digital world and seemingly thrive, but soon she discovers something unsettling about her new existence.

CHECK PLEASE CHECK PLEASE
Action and Adventure 2024 10 mins
Dinner for two turns deadly as a couple fight over who pays.

Red Lace Red Lace
Thriller 2024 11 mins
A young man enters a mysterious bakery where he must complete a rite of initiation to join a strange community of cake lovers.

Unrecognized Character Detected Unrecognized Character Detected
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 9 mins
Two alien organisms engage in a playful conflict across diverse territories, but all may not be as it seems.

REBIRTH REBIRTH
Drama 2023 4 mins Silent
A once vibrant neighbourhood descends into chaos after a tragedy in the community.

Your Voice Only Your Voice Only
Documentary 2023 14 mins
A Sudanese man working in an isolated horse stable in Dahban, Saudi Arabia tries to contact his family after not being able to call them in three months.