This film is part of Free

Faringdon Carnival And Fete

Fundraising for Faringdon's historic church.

Amateur film 1952 5 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Media Archive for Central England

Overview

In the market town of Faringdon in Berkshire (it transferred to Oxfordshire in the 1974 council re-organisation) a carnival is underway to raise funds for All Saints' Church. The unusually squat tower of the church is a legacy of a Civil War cannon ball that drastically reduced its height in 1645. This historical oddity is commemorated on one of the floats in the brightly decorated parade captured in vivid Kodachrome by Joyce Skinner.

Look out too for an appearance by an American military band that is visiting from Fairford in Gloucestershire. The United States Air Force were running the base at the time as the Cold War escalated. The filmmaker, Joyce Skinner, was later a member of the South Birmingham Cine Society and went on to make several sponsored industrial films and prize winning amateur productions.