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.
This film is part of Free
Wharfedale
Young hikers take to the hills in the time of motorcycles and sidecars, Morris dancers are still a novelty, and children balance barefoot over the stepping stones at Bolton Abbey.
From the collection of:
Overview
Wharfedale is renowned as one of the most beautiful parts of the country, but what was it like in 1956? This lovely short film not only shows us what places like Ilkley looked like at that time, but also reveals the extent to which increasing numbers of people were getting out into the countryside in the post-war period – by car, scooters, bicycle, on foot in shorts and hiking boots, and with proper rucksacks.
This film is one of over sixty films made by Fred Brackenbury between 1948 and 1966. Fred was a member of Harrogate Cine Club, and made all the films with a 16mm cine camera, virtually all in Kodachrome. He made films for Harrogate Council and other documentaries on Yorkshire – some with a separate soundtrack with commentaries by his wife, Nora – keen that they should contribute to preserving Yorkshire heritage and its landscape. Most of the heritage places in the film remain as they were, although Beamsley Hospital, originally a circular almshouse dating back to 1593 to provide accommodation for poor local widows (hence “hospital” in the old sense), ceased operation in the 1970s and is now a guest house.
Related
Watch for free
Cricket 1952 (Featuring Locations in Ilkley and Sleights) Cricket 1952 (Featuring Locations in Ilkley and Sleights)
Amateur film 1952 8 mins Silent Location: Ilkley
The 1950s, the zenith of cricket as the perfect expression of the English refinement of leisure, along with smoking a pipe and having a beer.
Watch for free
The Wharfedale Scene The Wharfedale Scene
Home movie 1977 15 mins Location: Ilkley
With the so-called ‘winter of discontent’ on the horizon, here we have summer contentment generated by the serenity and simple life of ‘God’s own county’.
Watch for free
Outdoor Training of Police Cadets Outdoor Training of Police Cadets
Documentary 1962 25 mins Location: Ilkley
Looking ahead to a life of chasing rogues over garden fences, or auditioning for Norman Wisdom’s ‘On the Beat’ – made the same year – police cadets take on an outdoor assault course.
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
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
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
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.