The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Yorkshire Sketchbook
A leisurely tour of Castleford with a declining industrial landscape and a family enjoying the surrounding countryside in the mid-1950s, all in beautiful Kodochrome colour.
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Overview
A chance to see both sides of Castleford, the ugly and the pleasant in the mid-1950s, before the devastating pit closures and the Castleford Project. Local ironmonger John Parkin captures the factories and pits, already in the throes of decay, as well the parks and gardens in spring. Then out into the countryside, his family frolics in meadows and by streams, and the wildlife looks resplendent in Kodochrome colour, enhanced by the appearance of a Henry Moore statue.
This is one of many films of family outings and local activities made in the 1950s by John Parkin, who ran an ironmongers shop in Castleford. Castleford at the time was a thriving town with full employment, but the 1980s saw that change as pits like Fryston, Glasshoughton and Wheldale all closed (none are left). Henry Moore was born in Castleford, the son of a miner, and some of his works can be seen in the nearby Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
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