At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 36,000 film and sound recordings relating to Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including film and tapes of local TV and radio.
This film is part of Free
Lady Congleton's film of the Cowes Regatta
Lady Congleton's remarkable film gets right in the middle of all the yachting action during Cowes Week
From the collection of:
Overview
This remarkable film takes us right into the action of Cowes Week with views of several yachts racing on the Solent while a fast launch passes close by. A man wearing a captain's cap steers the boat's wheel as an elegant woman looks on. As the yachts round one of the Solent forts we see a trans-Atlantic liner in the distance, making for the open ocean.
The films in the Congleton collection derive from the family of the 6th Baron Congleton - John Brooke Molesworth Parnell. Congleton was married to Edith Mary Palmer Howard in 1918. They had nine children in all, some of whom appear in this film, though only seven would reach adulthood. Most of the films within the collection feature aspects of family life, and the children feature prominently.
Related
Watch for free
Red Funnel Ferries Red Funnel Ferries
Advert 1969 0 mins Location: Solent, The
Thrill to the speed onboard a Red Funnel hydrofoil as it scoots across the Solent in this nostalgic advert from 1969
Watch for free
Portsmouth & Southampton during the summer of 1929 Portsmouth & Southampton during the summer of 1929
Amateur film 1929 9 mins Silent Location: Portsmouth Harbour
Come aboard a jolly mini-cruise around the Solent in this fascinating 1929 film from Ralph Staley - featuring his wife Ellen, his daughter Pam and the Mauretania
Watch for free
Isle of Wight Isle of Wight
Amateur film 1953 11 mins Silent Location: Bembridge Harbour
Join the Corders on a family holiday to the Isle of Wight - complete with beaches, boats and a rare glimpse of an all-metal flying Princess
Watch for free
Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion
Short documentary 2026 22 mins
Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and curator Matthew Barrington discuss Frederick Wiseman’s High School with Sandra Hebron.
Watch for free
Hard, Cracked the Wind Hard, Cracked the Wind
Horror 2019 17 mins
A haunting with words is the lure between life and death for a young Cornish poet.
Watch for free
A Last Resort A Last Resort
Comedy 2022 17 mins
Rose is desperate to celebrate her 60th birthday in style, but her daughter Genevieve is struggling to ignore some recent tragic news about her mum.
Watch for free
The Walk The Walk
Drama 2023 12 mins
Adeel Akhtar portrays a man on a weekly trek to his nearest JobCentre, entering a state of purgatory through barriers put in place by the system.
Watch for free
Seagull Seagull
Horror 2022 6 mins
Seagull is a recovering drug addict who is about to have a very strange night on The English Riviera.
Watch for free
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.