The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is currently unavailable
Video Player is loading.
Sad Day for Bilston
A steelworks and a workforce under the shadow of closure. Bilston faces a cold winter as it loses its traditional heavy industry.
From the collection of:
Overview
The union officials and workers are continuing to fight but the closure of Bilston steelworks appears to be a certainty by February 1979 when John McLeod visited for the current affairs programme Format V. The death knell was sounded two years earlier when the iconic blast furnace 'Elisabeth' was decommissioned. The workers face redundancy and the end of an era is typified by the old characters of the social club swapping tales over a pint.
Iron had been produced in Bilston since the eighteenth century. However, by 1979 the plant's days were numbered. The decommissioning of the blast furnace 'Elisabeth' in October 1977 meant that the production of steel would no longer be economic as iron had to be brought in. The final closure of the plant came later in 1979 with Elisabeth being demolished in October 1980.
Related
Currently unavailable
Pattern for Progress Pattern for Progress
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1948 42 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
The drama and spectacle of steelmaking at Ebbw Vale.
Currently unavailable
Steel Windows Steel Windows
Documentary 1970 7 mins
A window on to a futuristic vision of concrete, glass and steel.
Currently unavailable
Project Spear Project Spear
Industry sponsored film 1964 31 mins
At Rotherham a revolution in steelmaking has human consequences.
Currently unavailable
Consett Steel Consett Steel
Industry sponsored film 1967 26 mins Location: Consett
Sparks fly in an industrial film that captures the exciting visual drama of steel production in Consett.
Currently unavailable
The First Four Years The First Four Years
Industry sponsored film 1951 42 mins Silent
An industrial epic plays out in steelmaking South Wales.
Currently unavailable
End of a Line End of a Line
1975 13 mins Silent Location: Swindon
After a glorious history, Baldwin's iron and steelworks in Swindon, Staffordshire, faces closure.
Watch for free
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Watch for free
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.
Watch for free
Jon M. Chu: The Wizard of Wicked Jon M. Chu: The Wizard of Wicked
Inside Film 2025 49 mins
Director Jon M. Chu discusses his ground-breaking vision of Oz.
Watch for free
Yorgos Lanthimos Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Yorgos Lanthimos Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 66 mins
Yorgos Lanthimos sits down with Succession creator Jesse Armstrong to reveal the secret ingredients that underpin his uniquely weird brand of satire.
Watch for free
Islands - Extended Q&A Islands - Extended Q&A
Inside Film 2025 31 mins
Director Jan Ole Gerster and actor Sam Riley talk about Islands, a thriller with noirish undertones and echoes of Hitchcock and Highsmith.
Watch for free
Lynne Ramsay Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Lynne Ramsay Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 67 mins
Lynne Ramsay discusses her singular career populated by visually intoxicating, ground-breaking and provocative films.