This film is part of Free
Sons of the Soil
Ilford's Fairlop Plain provides the battlefield for ploughing matches between local hands and Essex outsiders.
Overview
The bare earth looks heavy going, but there's a competition to be held at the annual October meet of the Ilford Farmers' Association. The horse drawn plough is still a working tool here, not yet a pub-side ornament, and each contestant steers teams of three shire horses hitched in single file, driving straight furrows through the clay of Fairlop Plain.
Although we only get a short glimpse of the spectators here, the annual Ilford ploughing matches are recorded as attracting thousands of onlookers. Typically for a newsreel item, we only get a hint of the competitive event, which required each participant to plough a plot 40 rods long by two rods wide - about 2000 square metres. Despite the enthusiastic following, the event didn't continue long into the 20th century - suburban expansion drew agricultural Essex into urban municipality and WWI took the young ploughmen to ply other fields.
Related
Ilford Ilford
Amateur film 1957 46 mins Location: Ilford
Ilford's past, present and a 'Kodachromed' future are all here in this epic amateur portrait of the town, made in the mid-50s.
Relay round Ilford Relay round Ilford
Non-Fiction 1929 1 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Extraordinary shorts and exhausted runners feature in this short newsreel showing highlights of a 40-mile relay race round Ilford.
Village life in wartime Cobham Village life in wartime Cobham
Amateur film 1944 15 mins Silent Location: Cobham
You'd never know there was a war on in sleepy Cobham until you see the soldiers - otherwise life goes on at a slow pace in this beautifully bucolic corner of Kent.
Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942) Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942)
Amateur film 1942 6 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Short amateur film showing the men of the Auxiliary Fire Service in Ilford in training in Ilford during the Second World War.
Kench Family Films: 1965 Part 2, Redbridge and West End (1965) Kench Family Films: 1965 Part 2, Redbridge and West End (1965)
Home movie 1965 14 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Beatles puppets, West End windows and an Ilford family Christmas all feature in this eclectic home move from Redbridge in 1965.
Kench Family Films: 1966, Redbridge and West End (1966) Kench Family Films: 1966, Redbridge and West End (1966)
Home movie 1966 17 mins Silent Location: Ilford
Ilford parades, Post Office Tower views as well as weddings, birthdays and Christmas all feature on this fantastic home movie from Redbridge in 1966.
Layla - Exclusive Q&A Layla - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 27 mins
Writer, director and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi talks to Rico Johnson-Sinclair about their debut feature.
All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.