This film is part of Free

Leeds Castle

Enjoy a day out at Leeds Castle in Kent - seen through the lens of Beryl Armstrong's camera - in this short film from the 1970s

Amateur film 1970 3 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Screen Archive South East

Overview

Starting with a montage of ornamental wildfowl, including a pair of albino peacocks, we soon see Leeds Castle and its extensive grounds. Large numbers of visitors wander about the castle and its grounds and gardens or sit by the large moat which surrounds the castle. In a courtyard we see children by a small fountain before the film ends with more scenes showing ducks, cranes and peacocks.

New Zealand born Beryl Armstrong began making films while living in India in the early 1960s. For the next thirty years her output was prolific and Beryl’s films, which often captured aspects of rural life in Sussex and Hampshire, appeared at local amateur film making festivals and competitions, where they won trophies and certificates of merit. She also wrote articles for film magazines and taught her sons Richard and Anthony, who often appeared in her productions, the art of filmmaking. Both went on to create their own collections of short documentaries, comedies and animations. Beryl is also a successful author, publishing twelve novels as well as a book about designing and building doll's houses.