The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
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Great Torrington May Fair
Great Torrington’s children lead a May Day procession
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Overview
Great Torrington’s May Fair is an annual folk festival dating back to 1554. On the first Thursday in May, the children dance around the maypole set up in Market Square at the heart of the town. A May Queen is elected and a procession with attendants ensues. A banner with Us Be Plaised To Zee ‘Ee welcomes one and all. The town is traditionally decked in bunting and decorated with sprays of yellow gorse flowers.
Fairs cease during the Second World War but come back with more enthusiasm than ever in the post-war rationing period and into the 1950s. 1954 marks the end of rationing in Britain. Great Torrington or Torrington is a small market town known for its 1646 Battle that saw the defeat of the Royalists by Sir Thomas Fairfax's Parliamentarians putting an end to Royalist ambition in the West Country. It is also famous for glove-making.
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