The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
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Market Day at St. Albans
Amateur filmmaker John Anderson captures the tail end of the sixties, incidentally showing the pop culture and homeware trends of this era, visiting market day in St. Albans.
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Overview
A bustling St. Albans market, populated by trend-followers of the Mod pop culture. A place where crowds gather to pick up the latest in home gadgetry - who doesn't own a mouli-grater? - as well as the mandatory fruit and veg. Now considered kitsch or 'retro' are the home decor items and 'Chelsea Girl' fashion for sale. It's a sunny day and 'the' place to be is St. Albans market. On the sixties-seventies cusp, this film was shot pre-decimalisation.
To accompany the picture, amateur filmmaker John Anderson later recorded traders voices, and combined this with accompanying accordion music to give a continental feel. However only the picture remains here. St Albans street market is documented as early as the 9th century and has been located on the same site for more than 500 years. The town’s charter (1553) states that the days of the market are Wednesday and Saturday, which remains the same to this day. St Albans market is still considered to be one of the best in the area.
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