This film is one of about a dozen films donated to the YFA by David H Whiteley of films made by his father. The films mainly date from the 1930s, with this film and another from the 1950s, and one from 1966 of Thruscross reservoir filmed from the Whiteley plane. David’s father and uncle began filming in 1929 when they bought a camera and projector which they shared. One of the first things they filmed was the building of the Jane Whiteley Memorial Home, built in memory of David...

This film is one of about a dozen films donated to the YFA by David H Whiteley of films made by his father. The films mainly date from the 1930s, with this film and another from the 1950s, and one from 1966 of Thruscross reservoir filmed from the Whiteley plane. David’s father and uncle began filming in 1929 when they bought a camera and projector which they shared. One of the first things they filmed was the building of the Jane Whiteley Memorial Home, built in memory of David Whiteley's grandmother, who died in 1932, and opened on October 25th 1933.  They also filmed the building of the Village Hall at Pool, from start to finish.

 

In 1936 they filmed the 50th anniversary of the making paper firm – BS & W Whiteley Pool Paper Mills – that David Whiteley's grandfather founded in Pool, near Otley, in 1886. Starting off as a corn mill on the River Wharfe in Pool (renamed Pool-in-Wharfedale in 1927), the firm expanded into a flourishing business – it was acquired in 1981 by Weidmann International Corporation and today (2009) has a turnover of £14+m exporting to 120 countries. A number of the films feature the family playing cricket, which was clearly a family tradition as David’s son John Peter Whiteley played for Yorkshire between 1978 and 1982.  The family can also be seen in this film.  In fact the show is in Pool, in a field opposite the cricket ground off the Arthington Road (now houses), and not actually in Arthington itself  – Arthington being just up the road from Pool .

 

This is one of many similar films in the YFA which feature local agricultural shows. The show has been running for almost a hundred years, and the events that can be seen at the show would have been common at shows of this kind for a long time – see the Great Yorkshire Show (1957) and the Context for this film.   The railway nearby was closed in 1965 as a result of the Beeching Report, but the Wharfedale hotel (now the Wharfedale Inn and restaurant) is still there.

 

Perhaps the most noteworthy display is of the Shire horses – the best known of the breeds of heavy horses – as these very nearly became extinct after the Second World War: from 550,000 in 1939 to only 5,000 by 1972 (a decline mourned by Jethro Tull in their song Heavy Horses). Thankfully they have survived, and thankfully also they no longer (except on special occasions) have to do the very hard work they were bred to do. 

 

It is thought that "The Great Horse", as they were called, were brought in by the French after the Norman invasion, although there would have been indigenous dray horses. Because of their size they were especially useful for transporting knights clad in their armour. Hence their first use was in war, with Henry VIII passing acts in 1535 and 1541 forbidding the breeding of horses under 15 hands and prohibiting their export, even to Scotland (not surprising given James 1st’s support for the Pope, leading to Henry’s invasion in 1542). Indeed they were still used in the two World Wars of the twentieth century, pulling heavy artillery. Later in the 16th century they were used for pulling coaches and wagons over mud tracks. Then in the following century Friesian horses were brought in from Holland to drain the Fens. These horses, predominantly black with feathered legs, became widespread in use in agriculture, and then hundreds of thousands were used in industry, in mills, on the docks, canals and railways.   Apart from their occasional use by Brewers, keeping alive a tradition  – Young's Brewery in Wandsworth and their horses closed in 2006, but the Sheffield brewery at Kelham Island has one, called ‘Big Lad’ – they are now mainly bred for shows. Perhaps we ought to be thankful to shows like this one at Arthington, so that these beautiful animals can still be appreciated by all.

 

References

 

Carol Watson, Shire horse, A. & C. Black, London, 1987
the Arthington Show

BBC History of Shire Horses

Heavy Horses

The Shire Horse Society

David H Whiteley letter to British Archaeology