This film is part of Free
Workers are marshalled past the gate of one of Yorkshire's biggest steel firms.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent
Staging is common in Mitchell and Kenyon's 'factory gate' films. These workers at John Brown & Co.'s huge Sheffield ironworks are very obviously being chivvied past the camera by a smartly-dressed, bowler-hatted man - possibly Isaac Thomas, brother of regular M&K commissioner AD Thomas. In the concluding shot, an assortment of workers and children wave cheerfully to the camera.
Sheffield-born industrialist Sir John Brown (1816-96) was a major figure in the south Yorkshire iron trade. He founded his company in 1844, and opened the Atlas Works in Brightside in 1856: before the decade was out, the site had grown to 30 acres. Brown made his fortune making rails for the rapidly expanding rail network before turning to armour plate for the Royal Navy. He was knighted for services to British industry in 1867. Mitchell and Kenyon filmed the factory the year before Brown's merged with neighbouring Thomas Firth & Sons and began specialising in stainless steel manufacture. The company still exists as part of Sheffield Forgemasters, but the majority of the Atlas Works site was demolished in the 1980s.
Non-Fiction 1900 3 mins Silent Location: Chorley
Lancashire cotton-workers pile out through the mill gates at dinner time.
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Silent Location: Leyland
Another shift ends in Victorian Lancashire, while children play in the street.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Nelson
Lively Lancashire millworkers, including young boys and girls, at the mill gates.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent
Where was this Edwardian paper works?
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: St Helens
Weary glassmakers head home after morning shift.
Non-Fiction 1901 4 mins Silent Location: Birmingham
A rich impression of a vibrant Midlands works, in an unusually elaborate 'factory gate' film.
Documentary 1897 1 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Sheffield gives the capital a run for its money with an impressive parade celebrating the monarch, a month before the Diamond Jubilee.
Factual TV 1988 5 mins Location: Sheffield
Sheffield professional sportsmen train determined disabled adults to compete at the Special Olympics in this heart-warming short film. (
Amateur film 1958 7 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Children from Sheffield enjoy becoming amateur dentists for the day in this informative educational film from the late 1950s.
Sponsored film 1959 9 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
A Sheffield bus strike causes traffic congestion in this film that shows the significant local impact that a workplace dispute can have.
Current affairs 1988 11 mins Location: Leeds
This film sees Sheffield Council reform and modernise their approach to female leisure activities for their diverse and busy community.
Amateur film 1942 19 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Military men and women from Sheffield put on a show from 1942-1947 in this patriotic compilation film.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1933 2 mins
Hand-drawn sound experiment by Bauhaus professor László Moholy-Nagy.
Advert 1974 1 mins Location: Shaftesbury
A classic slice of British advertising history, though that hill's not as Northern as it looks...
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Great Moor St, Bolton
Eager youngsters burst out of the gates of a Victorian cotton mill.
Sport 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
It's the first weekend of July 1901, and high society are on the Thames
Advert 1898 1 mins Silent Location: St Pancras
An unusual farewell in this charming early film
Do you recognise a place, building or location in this film?
Help us populate the Britain on Film map by spotting and plotting the street or location you know. This is a BFI project and anyone can help.
Go to our Britain on Film crowdsourcing site and contribute to our mapping mission – to identify locations within our archive films.
Add a location
