London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
This film is part of Free

Dunmow Flitch
A smiling couple bring home the bacon after successfully impressing a mock court during an ancient folk custom in Essex.
From the collection of:

Overview
The Great Dunmow Flitch has been performed in Essex since the reign of Henry III. It requires married couples to prove they have not repented of their marriage in the previous 12 months and one day. Should they satisfy a judge and jury, made up of six local man and six local woman, they receive a flitch – an entire side – of bacon. This film shows one such ceremony, with marching band, mock court and the tears of a successful couple. The ceremony is still held every four years.
Related

Ilford Ilford
Amateur film 1957 46 mins Location: Ilford
Ilford's past, present and a 'Kodachromed' future are all here in this epic amateur portrait of the town, made in the mid-50s.

Relay round Ilford Relay round Ilford
Non-Fiction 1929 1 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Extraordinary shorts and exhausted runners feature in this short newsreel showing highlights of a 40-mile relay race round Ilford.

Sons of the Soil Sons of the Soil
Non-Fiction 1915 1 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Ilford's Fairlop Plain provides the battlefield for ploughing matches between local hands and Essex outsiders.

Village life in wartime Cobham Village life in wartime Cobham
Amateur film 1944 15 mins Silent Location: Cobham
You'd never know there was a war on in sleepy Cobham until you see the soldiers - otherwise life goes on at a slow pace in this beautifully bucolic corner of Kent.

Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942) Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942)
Amateur film 1942 6 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Short amateur film showing the men of the Auxiliary Fire Service in Ilford in training in Ilford during the Second World War.

Kench Family Films: 1965 Part 2, Redbridge and West End (1965) Kench Family Films: 1965 Part 2, Redbridge and West End (1965)
Home movie 1965 14 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Beatles puppets, West End windows and an Ilford family Christmas all feature in this eclectic home move from Redbridge in 1965.

On Falling - Exclusive Q&A On Falling - Exclusive Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
Writer-director Laura Carreira talks to Nia Childs about her debut feature, On Falling.

Layla - Exclusive Q&A Layla - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 27 mins
Writer, director and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi talks to Rico Johnson-Sinclair about their debut feature.

All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.

Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.

Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.

Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.