This film is part of Free
Sons of the Soil
Ilford's Fairlop Plain provides the battlefield for ploughing matches between local hands and Essex outsiders.
Overview
The bare earth looks heavy going, but there's a competition to be held at the annual October meet of the Ilford Farmers' Association. The horse drawn plough is still a working tool here, not yet a pub-side ornament, and each contestant steers teams of three shire horses hitched in single file, driving straight furrows through the clay of Fairlop Plain.
Although we only get a short glimpse of the spectators here, the annual Ilford ploughing matches are recorded as attracting thousands of onlookers. Typically for a newsreel item, we only get a hint of the competitive event, which required each participant to plough a plot 40 rods long by two rods wide - about 2000 square metres. Despite the enthusiastic following, the event didn't continue long into the 20th century - suburban expansion drew agricultural Essex into urban municipality and WWI took the young ploughmen to ply other fields.
Related
Ilford Ilford
Amateur film 1957 46 mins Location: Ilford
Ilford's past, present and a 'Kodachromed' future are all here in this epic amateur portrait of the town, made in the mid-50s.
Relay round Ilford Relay round Ilford
Non-Fiction 1929 1 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Extraordinary shorts and exhausted runners feature in this short newsreel showing highlights of a 40-mile relay race round Ilford.
Village life in wartime Cobham Village life in wartime Cobham
Amateur film 1944 15 mins Silent Location: Cobham
You'd never know there was a war on in sleepy Cobham until you see the soldiers - otherwise life goes on at a slow pace in this beautifully bucolic corner of Kent.
Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942) Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942)
Amateur film 1942 6 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Short amateur film showing the men of the Auxiliary Fire Service in Ilford in training in Ilford during the Second World War.
Ilford Hospital Carnival Ilford Hospital Carnival
Non-Fiction 1911 2 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Carnival fever hits Ilford and crowds come out to support a local hospital fundraiser.
In the High Court of Happiness In the High Court of Happiness
Non-Fiction 1927 2 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Marital bliss is put to the test in this ancient Essex 'calendar custom'.
Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.
Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.
Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.
Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.
Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.
Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.