An amateur film by Bob Wrightson recording various events and activities taking place in the village of Murton in County Durham during the 1970s. Events recorded include a costume parade as part of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977 and the dedication of a memorial plaque in 1976 to local Victoria Cross recipient William McNally. The film also records a number of important local events such as the construction of the new A19 motorway around the village and the demolition of the...

An amateur film by Bob Wrightson recording various events and activities taking place in the village of Murton in County Durham during the 1970s. Events recorded include a costume parade as part of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977 and the dedication of a memorial plaque in 1976 to local Victoria Cross recipient William McNally. The film also records a number of important local events such as the construction of the new A19 motorway around the village and the demolition of the Rex Cinema on Knareborough Road. The film also records a number of winters when the village was covered in snow. The film begins with a marching brass band coming past the Colliery Inn on Wood's Terrace in Murton and turning into Church Street. A policeman directs traffic while a small crowd standing on the pavement watching as the band approaches. A decorated flatbed lorry drives past on which sit three young women who wave the crowd. A juvenile jazz band wearing peach and white uniforms turn into Church Road, the wind blowing their banner high in the air. The Murton Coldstream Juvenile Jazz Band follow next marching behind their banner. In a field a large crowd stand or sit chatting. The Murton Coldstream Juvenile Jazz Band marches onto the field and parades around it for the crowd. A crowd stand outside the Travellers Rest as a red United double-decker bus drives past. A man on the top deck waves his handkerchief at the crowd. A man conducts a brass band performing in the street outside the pub. A crowd watch as two older women dance to the music. A man walks down a back alley between two streets of terraced cottages. A woman walks in the opposite direction at the front of the cottages along Sea View. General views of the village showing traffic travelling through the village and of terraced streets. A tractor with plough clears snow from a road while a man uses a shovel to move snow from outside an Esso petrol station. A Mini car gets stuck in the snow. General views of Murton in the snow and a group of boys throwing snowballs at a derelict house. The film cuts to show a framed picture and a sign on a countertop that reads ‘After Sales Service. Buy only where you have a guaranteed after sales service. You have no worries if you buy your camera or projector here signed J.E. Brown’. Various pieces of camera equipment are on display in a shop. A man appears behind the counter and begins to look over one of the pieces. Another sign on the counter reads ‘We are now taking orders for Christmas’. Behind a table a man sits dealing out a number of green cards. A small group of men sit and wait patiently as an 8mm films is threaded into a projector. A man checks the projector screen. In a window is a small poster showing a Union Jack with a laurelled crown and writing that reads ‘1977 The Queen’s Silver Jubilee’. Bunting hangs across a back alley with Murton Colliery in the distance. A small girl stands in the street holding a blue balloon. A group of adults and children in various fancy dress costumes stand waiting behind a row of terraced houses. A young boy leads a woman on horseback through the crowd. A parade gets underway lead by the costumed children. One child is dressed as a record with the label “10cc 1977” while another is dressed as a miner. Behind the children come the adults, many of the men are dressed as women while the women dress like men. A number of prams and someone in a wheelchair pass draped in Union Jacks and bunting. The parade march into a field and the costumed children walk around in a circle watched by crowds standing nearby. One child is dressed as a Dalek, another a Golliwog. A helicopter flies over the village. A steam shunter train pulling empty coal wagons travels along a railway track towards Murton Colliery. General views of the entrance to Murton Colliery. A large group of men, women and children appear to dig and sift for coal from a piece of waste ground, possibly part of the colliery spoil heap. People climb back and forth under a wire fence. Some of the bags are loaded onto a horse and wagon while other loaded into cars, a long line of which are parked beside the wire fence. One bag is taken away in a children’s pushchairs. A large sign built near the colliery reads ‘New Factory and Office for Rediffusion Vision Services Ltd’. General views of the building site and traffic moving along the road running alongside. General views of the Rex Cinema on Knaresborough Road in a derelict state. There are many smashed windows and a man climbs along the roof. The film changes to show the roof of the cinema now missing.   General views around Murton including terraced cottages along Sea View. A number of residents look out from their doorways at the camera. General view of the exterior of “Carr and Holmes Butchers”.  At Murton Crossing a steam train passes through the level crossing past the signal box. Once the gates are opened workmen start working on the crossing by repairing sleepers and laying aggregate. A man uses a chainsaw to cut wooden sleepers to size watched by a young boy sitting on his Chopper bicycle. On one side of the crossing a number of red United buses are parked.  A crowd of passengers gets of a red double-decker United ‘154 Durham’ bus service and cross the crossing to another bus on the other side.  With the work complete and new barriers and signals in place traffic move across the new crossing. General views of road traffic travelling into and around Murton. Traffic moves past a row of terraced houses on D’Arcy Place. A road sign points traffic off a main road into Murton. A Morris Miner takes the junction and heads towards the village. General views of road traffic travelling along the road toward the colliery in the distance. Heavy earth moving machinery is used to build a new road with bridge into Murton off the new A19 motorway which is also under construction nearby. Over a period of time the film shows construction work progressing and traffic continuing to use the existing road alongside construction. Nearing completion traffic begin to use the new road system with traffic crossing the new bridge over the A19. A group of men stand on the bridge and look down onto the motorway which is still under construction. Alongside the A19 traffic travels under the bridge at Murton. A car crossing the bridge itself and turns onto the slip road leading onto the motorway. General views of a number of derelict or partially demolished terraced houses and cottages. A street sign reads ‘North Crescent’ cutting to the derelict frontage of ‘Wm Skilbeck Ltd’ store. In the Memorial Gardens on Church Lane beside the Murton War Memorial Cenotaph a religious service is underway. A large crowd of civilian and military servicemen, some holding flags, are in attendance. Following the service, the crowd begins to disperse. The priest speaks with a man and woman from the Salvation Army. A brass band parades along Church Lane towards Murton followed by men in army uniforms and older civilians in suits, some carrying flags and banners. A long line of traffic follows behind. A small crowd stand around a stone memorial which is dedicated to ‘William McNally, V.C., M.M., & Bar 1894-1976’. General views of Murton in snow. A car is partially buried in snow during a storm. An NEEB Range Rover has difficulty driving in the snow and is pulled through it by another NEEB Range Rover. A number of men try to dig out a Datsun car. The film ends with more general views of the village in snow and pedestrians and traffic trying to get through it.