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.
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The Hop Fields of Worcestershire
Seasonal work for generations from the West Midlands - the annual hop harvest in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
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Overview
This short reel of amateur film is thought to have been shot at Bransford in Worcestershire and depicts the harvesting of hops for the beer industry. Up until the 1960s it was a laborious process that brought seasonal workers from Birmingham and the West Midlands into the area. We see women with children hand picking the hops, which grow on unwieldy twenty foot high trellises. A community spirit sprang up around the families that stayed for the whole season on the land.
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