National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
This film is part of Free
Malltraeth and Menai Bridge Horse Fair
Anglesey-based artist Charles Tunnicliffe records some of the island's wonders which include turkeys, Ty Newydd and horse mane plaiting!
From the collection of:
Overview
A cinematic 'sketchbook' featuring Anglesey's man-made and natural wonders filmed by artist Charles Tunnicliffe. There are shots of the neolithic burial chamber 'Ty Newydd', Llanfaelog and, at Malltraeth, the viaduct and church - 'Crist y Brenin'. Elsie Holroyd, Tunnicliffe's wife's sister-in-law, is out in the field using binoculars and a group of women sit on a wall and play up for the camera. Turkeys, and the plaiting of a mane at the horse fair are recorded too.
It was evident from a young age that Tunnicliffe (1901-79) had a gift for drawing. From a farm in Cheshire he won scholarships to the Macclesfield School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London. He worked as an etcher/engraver, a teacher and an illustrator for e.g. Ladybird books and Brooke Bond tea cards. He also illustrated books by e.g. Alison Uttley and Henry Williamson. He married Winifred Wonnacott (1902-69), a fellow RCA scholarship student from Holywood, Belfast, and they moved to 'Shorelands', a bungalow by the Cefni estuary, Malltraeth, in 1947. Their friends included naturalists T G 'Wack' Walker, Norman 'Nomad' Ellison, Ted Breeze Jones (also a photographer) and artist Kyffin Williams.
Related
Ponies (Cable Bay) and Posies (Shorelands, Malltraeth) Ponies (Cable Bay) and Posies (Shorelands, Malltraeth)
Home movie 1955 3 mins Silent Location: Malltraeth
Artist Charles Tunnicliffe’s cinematic ‘sketches’, include shots of a dredger and a horse-drawn cart on the Cefni estuary.
Landmarks and Seagulls Landmarks and Seagulls
Home movie 1955 4 mins Silent Location: Aberffraw
Charles F Tunnicliffe’s artist’s eye informs this footage he caught on camera of birds and bridges, clouds and snow.
Malltraeth: birds observed Malltraeth: birds observed
Home movie 1955 3 mins Silent Location: Malltraeth
Anglesey-based artist Charles Tunnicliffe swaps brushes for a camera and offers us the chance to look a cormorant in its emerald-green eye.
Shorelands, Malltraeth: snow, swans, gulls and Nomad Shorelands, Malltraeth: snow, swans, gulls and Nomad
Home movie 1950 10 mins Silent Location: Malltraeth
Wildlife artist Charles Tunnicliffe and his wife Winifred lived at 'Shorelands', Malltraeth, Anglesey, surrounded by birds, river and sea.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.