Metadata
WORK ID: NEFA 20447 (Master Record)
| Title | Year | Date |
| THE GANG, SEAHOUSES | 1962-1964 | 1962-01-01 |
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Details
Original Format: 16mm Colour: Colour Sound: Silent Duration: 25 mins 7 secs Genre: Home Movie Subject: Travel Seaside Family Life |
| Summary A compilation of home movie films documenting the Morton family picnics, walks, and visits to towns and attractions around the north of England. The film includes a trip to Seahouses beach, the Farne Islands, rambling along the Cleveland coast between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Staithes, spring-time walking in Farndale Nature Reserve, and a visit to Bishop Auckland Castle Park. |
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Description
A compilation of home movie films documenting the Morton family picnics, walks, and visits to towns and attractions around the north of England. The film includes a trip to Seahouses beach, the Farne Islands, rambling along the Cleveland coast between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Staithes, spring-time walking in Farndale Nature Reserve, and a visit to Bishop Auckland Castle Park.
A family eat a picnic beside a road and a canal. Tea is poured of out of a Thermos flask into green plastic cups....
A compilation of home movie films documenting the Morton family picnics, walks, and visits to towns and attractions around the north of England. The film includes a trip to Seahouses beach, the Farne Islands, rambling along the Cleveland coast between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Staithes, spring-time walking in Farndale Nature Reserve, and a visit to Bishop Auckland Castle Park.
A family eat a picnic beside a road and a canal. Tea is poured of out of a Thermos flask into green plastic cups.
View of the bridge over the River Tees at Barnard Castle.
The group of young adults run down a hillside overlooking a town below in the valley.
Close-up view of a man's hand stirring the water in a shallow stream, and tadpoles swimming around his fingers.
Views of another picnic, roadside and rural. Porcelain tea cups are laid out on the rugs with cake. Close-up of two women's faces, asleep after the picnic.
A family paddle in a river, then gather for a photograph sitting on a rock in the river a few metres away from the riverbank.
Views of the group posing for the camera on a park bench, and walking through a park, smelling the flowers along the way. The group board a three-car motorcade, including a Morris Minor and a red Mini.
View of a juvenile jazz band parading along a town centre street. The parade passes an Essoldo theatre.
A brief shot focuses on a man examining something on a beach beside old concrete anti-invasion defences.
The group set-up a picnic beside their cars, parked alongside the dunes of a sandy beach - likely Seahouses in Northumberland. Close-up view of a woman opening a can of "Danish Plum Rose Ham" with a tin opener. The group eat strawberries and cream off porcelain plates. They then play a game of quick cricket on the beach, using a small racquet for a bat. The next shot shows the group paddling in the sea. Couples compete, amidst the giggles, in wheelbarrow races: first of all, women hold on to their partners' legs and steer, after that the men-folk do the same.
View of the group boarding a boat. They queue on concrete steps descending past Seahouses harbour wall. The boat rocks in the water, and a steward aboard the boat helps each of the passengers board.
Close-up views of the guano-covered rocks of the Farne Islands. Brief shots of members of the group stepping on to one of of the islands and wandering around. View of a red lighthouse. Close-up view of a bird, then of a woman holding a young chick in the palm of her hand. A child then strokes the chick.
Views of roadside picnicking: eating sandwiches, cake.
View of the rear of a caravan (registration SVN 270). The caravan is towed away.
Panning panoramic view of Saltburn-by-the-Sea beach and pier, followed by a general view of the route of a rambling walk southwards from Saltburn along the Cleveland and North Yorkshire coast. View of a beach and harbour wall - possibly Skinningrove. The group arrive in Staithes, and approach the seafront at the bottom of the village down Cowbar Lane.
The next sequence shows children sledging on a snow-covered field. Wintery scenes of the snowy landscape follow.
A Christmas tree stands in the front room of a house, Christmas presents stacked under and around the tree.
The following sequence records views around the North York Moors in springtime. A car crosses a ford at Hutton-le-Hole in North Yorkshire. Close-up shot of a sign reading, "Farndale National Reserve". Two women walk through the reserve beside a river, beck, or stream, daffodils thick on the ground.
The final brief sequence is of a visit to Bishop Auckland Castle Park, and views of the historic architecture.
Context
This is a wonderful compilation of home movie films documenting the Morton family’s many picnics, walks, and visits to towns and attractions around the north east of England. Embracing the outdoor life, the film includes a trip to Seahouses beach, the Farne Islands, rambling along the Cleveland coast between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Staithes, spring-time walking in Farndale Nature Reserve, and a visit to Bishop Auckland Castle Park. Spectacular countryside with an equally spectacular and...
This is a wonderful compilation of home movie films documenting the Morton family’s many picnics, walks, and visits to towns and attractions around the north east of England. Embracing the outdoor life, the film includes a trip to Seahouses beach, the Farne Islands, rambling along the Cleveland coast between Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Staithes, spring-time walking in Farndale Nature Reserve, and a visit to Bishop Auckland Castle Park. Spectacular countryside with an equally spectacular and dramatic coastline, it is an area also known for its past fishing industry and hundreds of years of mineral production.
Saltburn by the Sea still has much of its original charm as a Victorian seaside resort, including its pier, the colourful Italian Gardens and the town has the oldest water balanced cliff tramway in Britain that is still in operation, linking the town with the pier 120 feet below. Down the coast is the hamlet of Staithes, famous for its past fishing industry and mineral production, an industry that continues to the present day. With higgledy-piggledy cottages and winding streets, it was probably here where the Mortons spent time rock pooling or fossil hunting on the beach. It was also home to Captain James Cook. James Cook was born in Marton about 25 miles south of Staithes the second child of seven. When he was 8 years old the family moved, as tenants, to Aireyholme Farm a short distance from Great Ayton where James received a basic education at the village school. For a short period at the end of his school days James worked for his father on the farm. In 1744 James moves to the then busy port of Staithes to work in the shop of William Sanderson. Staithes, in addition to its fishing activities, was a very busy little port but in 1746 James moves to Whitby to take a position in the Walker family business. The Walkers were prominent local ship-owners in the coal trade and their house is now the Captain Cook Memorial Museum. Cook was employed as a merchant navy apprentice in their small fleet of vessels, taking coal along the English coast between the Tyne and London. As part of his apprenticeship, Cook also studied algebra, geometry, navigation and astronomy, essential preparation skills to command his own ship and ultimately chart the new world. We also see the Mortons grew their own daffodils. They then make a special trip to the Farndale Local Nature Reserve to see them in their wild glory. Created in 1955 in the North York Moors National Park, the nature reserve protects these wild daffodils, first believed to have been planted by medieval monks. As the sign in the film says ‘it is forbidden to pick or injure the daffodils. Penalty Five pounds’. And how did they get there? What cars did they own? Well one family member was the owner of a new bright red Morris Minor mini, a car that was to become one of the most important iconic automobile designs of the 20th century. Alec Issigonis, an innovative designer, had already made an impression with his 1948 Morris Minor, and indeed the Morton family owned a light blue model. However, the new the 1959 Mini featured a ’transverse 4-cylinder engine with side-mounted radiator, front-wheel drive, gearbox in the sump, 10-inch wheels and conical rubber suspension’. Compact, practical and economical, this was a family car. The 1961 price was £496. Designed for four people, despite being only 10 feet long it could reach speeds of up to 70mph. Minis were originally known as Austin Seven and Morris Mini Minor, but by 1961 they were all known as Minis. About 945,000 Mini Mkl models were built between 1959 and 1967. The final Minor to be produced was a GPO van which rolled off the line in December 1971. In just over 22 years of production some 1.6 million Minors were made. Love of the outdoors, and able to explore in their newish cars, comes with the Morton family enjoying the joys of picnicking with stops even at the side of the road maintaining a standard of homemade cakes and cups of tea and coffee from plastic cups filled from thermoses. On other picnics they make fresh sandwiches from tinned convenience foods like Danish Plumrose Ham, which can still be found on our supermarket. shelves. And to finish, a good old quintessential British trifle. There are so many variations in this apparently 16th century traditional recipe. Do you put jelly in? Well the Morton’s seemed to. Fruit? Now tinned raspberries were perhaps the 1960s addition. A sponge soaked in sherry, a thick layer of creamy custard, and a deep layer of lightly whipped fresh cream and placed in a glass dish. Simply delicious. References: http://ourclassiccars.co.uk/morris-minor-1000-history/ https://www.hagertyinsurance.co.uk/price-guide/1962-Austin-Mini |
