LOCAL FILMS
A few films about the local area:
Steel Town (1958) ... Stocksbridge's Parochial Past (1965-1973) by Vixen Films ... Along the main road by Claire Pearson ... What the 'eck's Ganister by Keith Bramall & Ray Battye ... Stocksbridge by Dave Clancy ... Coutryman (a film about Austin Crossland 1913-1922)
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Please note: I had wanted to share a lot of British Pathe films on here but that would require a (paid for) licence and I would be in breach of copyright rules if I posted them on this website. However, although I cannot share them on this page, they are freely available to watch on YouTube. Try searching for: Strange But True? the Stocksbridge bypass presented by Michael Aspel (1994) ... Holmfirth 2017 and the Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir tragic coach crash on Look North ... A Tram Ride through Sheffield in 1902 ... Sheffield Castle ... Sheffield: City on the Move 1960s and 1970s ... Famous Cities part 7: Sheffield (1933) ... We of the West Riding (1945) ... The Sheffield Blitz (1940) ... Sheffield Steelworks 1948 ... Menschen in Sheffield (1965) ... New Towns for Old (1942) ... Derwent Village (1947) ... Lizzie the elephant WW1
And on Vimeo.com: Diamonds in Brown Paper (the Sheffield Buffer Girls).
STEEL TOWN 1958
A promotional documentary about Samuel Fox & Company, showing the steel works and its employees at work and leisure.
A van is shown driving along Manchester Road at Stocksbridge - it is fascinating to see how things were at the time, with all the lorries and buses which serviced the works driving through what many people still thought of as a village. This was at a time when almost every family in the area had a connection to the steelworks, and you can see just how much it featured in the lives of the local people, from providing employment to encouraging leisure activities - social clubs, the brass band, fishing, pigeon fancying, archery, the Victory Club with its dances, bands and snooker tables, and so on.
Workers can be seen arriving by bus and on foot - when I was young, I remember the sea of people who would be walking to start or end their shift in the works. When my dad was young, he remembered even more people, all the men wearing flat caps! Around 7,000 people worked there at the time.
The cameras follow various workers doing their jobs, including the women, and also go into the local schools, Belmont Training Centre, the canteen and the physio room.
People named in the film include Roy Westwood, Roy Siddons and his daughter Maureen, Frank Bagnel, Stan Collins, Harry Rogers, Arthur Eastwood, and Harry Day and his wife (she is shown at home on the Stubbin and out shopping in the town and the market).
It is a fascinating peek into the past of our valley.
STOCKSBRIDGE: THE PAROCHIAL PAST parts 1 - 3
A Cine film made by local camera men belonging to the Vixen Film Club, which later became known as the Stocksbridge Cine and Video Club. It was filmed between 1965 and 1973, and records many local events. ... It's not a good quality film, and the music and commentary is a bit dated, but it is well worth a watch. There appear to be a lot of formidable-looking ladies in hats too! It is such a shame to see how many buildings were demolished at this time.
Part 1 (27.36)
The old market, Mangle Row, opening of clinic, Inman Pavilion, Sheldon Rest Hope on Hope Street, opening of Buywise store, sewage works, Civic Sunday, Bolsterstone church garden party. 1967: Deepcar garden party, Scout fayre, fund raising walk, PM opens college, Remembrance Day, Cutting 1st sod for swimming baths. 1968: Wilson Road flats, the new market, library, Deepcar play group, Rogation Sunday, the parish market.
Part 2 (29.35)
Demolition of Brackenmoor Cottages, Button Row & bottling company. 1969: Horner House queen, Deepcar playgroup bbq & parade, Deepcar church garden party, opening of youth centre, Bolsterstone church garden party, Stocksbridge parish market. 1970: site prepared for Sweeney House, demolition of Florence Buildings, completion of Wilson Road flats, demolition of Rimington Row, improvement of Hollin Busk pinfold, Co-op buildings demolished, new fire station site, demolition of Newton's Farm at Horner House, North Sea Gas conversion, opening of swimming baths, Smithy Moor Gala.
Part 3 (29.03)
Bolsterstone church garden party, school fayre, Wesleyan church garden party, parish market, Smith Moor bbq, Stubbin Community Centre. 1971: completion of Oxley park, site of Horner Close housing, opening of fire station, new road at Hawthorn Avenue. 1972: Steel houses at Deepcar (built 1923) demolished to make way for Truman Grove, Shay House Lane dairy demolished to make way for school extension, Horner House nearing completion, Whit Walk. 1973: Old Folks' Outing to Blackpool, Deepcar church garden party, Bolsterstone church garden party, Bolsterstone church turrets removed by helicopter.
Steve Woodcock has started a channel on YouTube featuring these films. His grandad Dennis Leather was a member of Vixen Films and took quite a bit of the footage. Vixen Films would typically shoot local activities, edit the clips together, add a synchronised sound track/commentary using a reel to reel tape recorder and then show the finished films at local venues. In the mid 1970s Mr. Leather edited what he thought were the best bits from these individual films into the "Glimpses from our Parochial Past" in three parts (featured at the top of this page) and added a new sound track. Les Walker wrote and narrated the commentary. If you "subscribe" to Steve's YouTube channel (it's free!), you'll be notified whenever he uploads a new film. Most of the clips that he is posting are taken from the Parochial Past compilation.
Click HERE for the link and a stroll down Memory Lane
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Along the Main Road, Stocksbridge; a journey through time copyright Claire Pearson 2018
A slide show of the shops and buildings along Manchester Road from the Clock Tower to Unsliven Bridge
"What the Heck's Gannister" parts 1 and 2 are all about gannister mining in the Worral / Stocksbridge areas, by Keith Bramall and Ray Battye
Stocksbridge.
A short documentary made in 2005 by Dave Clancy covering some of the history of Stocksbridge. The film is presented by his father Chris Clancy and focuses on the Steelworks, with interviews from former steel workers. Clips from the film "Steel Town" are interspersed. The owners of the works when this film was made were Corus.
Reproduced with the kind permission of Dave Clancy
Countryman: Austin Crossland
This film was made in 1975 and has recently been tracked down; someone had a copy that was originally on a VHS tape. It was thought that this film had been lost to the mists of time, but thanks to the power of Facebook, someone had a copy! Austin Crossland (1913-1922) was a local man who many will remember from his time at Penistone Grammar School, where he taught woodwork and metal work. This would have been filmed in the forge at his home at Huthwaite Croft. The choir music would be sung by Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir, of which he was a member. I believe the music is the local tune Jacob's Well. I have been unable to find any copyright on this film, but if you do hold the copyright, please get in touch about this. More information about the life of Austin Crossland can be found HERE:
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Thickett's Shop, final day March 1996
Thickett's Shop on Manchester Road, Stocksbridge, was built in 1895 and closed after 101 years in 1996. It was opened by Edwin Thickett, a tailor, and his wife Minnie. Their granddaughter Betty and her husband Albert McKay were the third generation to carry on the business. The shop's final day made the local news, either Calendar or Look North, and this 28 minute film is the 'rough-cut' unedited version which was sent to the family. It starts with a few family photos and an interview with the owner, Betty McKay, starts at 03.57.
Betty passed away peacefully at the age of 90 on the 15th May 2024 in the home where she had lived and worked all her life. She was surrounded by family and her beloved cats to the end. With thanks to Stephen McKay, son of Betty and Albert