This film is part of Free
Workforce Leaving Smith & Coventry Works, Ordsall Lane, Salford (c.1901)
Men and lads spill out at the end of their shift at a Lancashire iron works.
Overview
While the men rush out to get home after a hard day's labour, boys stop and show off for the camera, despite getting in the way of their elders. Soon the wonder of the camera attracts a larger audience - probably at the invitation of one of Mitchell and Kenyon's showman partners. Some of the men, and a passing young girl, join the throng. Close by, another young lad eagerly sells newspapers.
Smith and Coventry of Gresley, established at Ordsall Lane in 1859, manufactured machine tools. The company later moved to new premises in Timperley, Manchester, and was taken over by John Hetherington and Sons in 1929.
Related
'Hands' Leaving Work at North-Street Mills, Chorley (1900) 'Hands' Leaving Work at North-Street Mills, Chorley (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 3 mins Silent Location: Chorley
Lancashire cotton-workers pile out through the mill gates at dinner time.
20,000 Employees Entering Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works (1900) 20,000 Employees Entering Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 3 mins Silent Location: Elswick
An astonishingly crowded Victorian street reveals the vast scale of Tyneside manufacturing.
Amos & Smith Boiler Works, Hull (1900) Amos & Smith Boiler Works, Hull (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Kingston upon Hull
Bicycles and broomsticks at the ready as workers finish shift at a marine engineering works in Victorian Hull.
Co-operative Wholesale Clothing Factory in Manchester (c.1900) Co-operative Wholesale Clothing Factory in Manchester (c.1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Silent Location: Manchester
Victorian Manchester mill workers enjoy the novelty of a moving picture camera.
Congregation Leaving St Mary's Church, Dumfries (c.1901) Congregation Leaving St Mary's Church, Dumfries (c.1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Dumfries
Worshippers in their Sunday best file out of the Church.
Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902) Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 1 mins Silent
A well-dressed church congregation gathers on the elegant portico.
Shuttered Windows Shuttered Windows
Charity appeal 1934 8 mins Location: Southport
Windows of opportunity: how a charity aimed to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted people.
Time Time
Documentary 1978 4 mins Location: Salford
When you're waiting for the emergency call, time goes by so slowly...
Bubbles Bubbles
Advert 1928 10 mins Silent Location: Salford
Watching the soaps in Salford, the "birthplace of a billion bubbles".
Preston Ladies Football and T.A. Volunteers Preston Ladies Football and T.A. Volunteers
Amateur film 1945 11 mins Silent Location: Preston
Playing the beautiful game - the ladies from Lancashire demonstrate their skills.
The Lancashire Way The Lancashire Way
Advert 1948 4 mins Location: Nelson
A tribute to Lancashire, land of industry, leisure, sublime landscape - and laundry detergent
A Mosque in the Park A Mosque in the Park
Documentary 1973 54 mins Location: Brentford
An insightful and understated television documentary following the lives of four Muslim families in Brentford, Manchester and Harrow.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
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.
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.