The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Masham and Mashamshire
A mash up of a film that craftily blends the ingredients of 1950s rural life, with sports, wildlife and locals battling against a blizzard: bad for sheep, good for sledging.
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Overview
Buried away in Wensleydale is the appropriately named small village of Masham, famous for its beers. But, on top of the beer, this marvellous film of the area by the local GP, Dr Dodds, shows that Masham in the early 1950s was clearly a lovely and eventful place to be living. Especially so for those who enjoy the outdoors: with everything from cricket, tennis, golf, ice hockey and sledging, to just absorbing the local wildlife and a raging River Ure.
Dr Dodds had a surgery at his home of Bank Villa on the tree lined Avenue, in partnership with Dr Holroyd, whose surgery was in Kirkby Malzeard. He was invalided out of the Royal Navy having served on the Russian convoy routes and elsewhere, taking the odd illicit photo en route. The medieval village of Masham is known for its sheep fair, and as the home to Theakstons and Black Sheep Breweries. Dodds’ children were friends of the Theakston boys, and they would play together in the brewery. Cricket is still occasionally played in front of the late 17th century castle of Swinton Park, now a hotel.
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