Distribution

Britain on Film: Rural Life

Dir: various

UK

2016

75 mins

U

Play Dates

  • Show All
  • South East
  • South West
  • London
  • North
  • Midlands
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland

Abergavenny U3A

09/11/2017

- 09/11/2017

Abergavenny

Arts Picturehouse

15/03/2018

- 15/03/2018

Cambridge

Ashford Carbonell Village Hall

19/05/2017

- 19/05/2017

Ludlow

Avebury Social Centre Committee

30/03/2017

- 30/03/2017

Avebury

Barn Cinema

26/03/2017

- 29/03/2017

Excluded Dates: 27 & 28

Totnes

Barton upon Humber Civic Society

16/02/2018

- 16/02/2018

Barton upon Humber

Battle U3A

21/01/2019

- 21/01/2019

Bexhill on Sea

Belford Community Cinema

30/07/2017

- 30/07/2017

Waren Mill, Belford

Belper Leisure Group

23/02/2017

- 23/02/2017

Nr Belper

BFI Southbank

10/07/2017

- 10/07/2017

Lambeth,

London

Brewery Arts Centre

11/09/2019

- 12/09/2019

Kendal

Broadway Cinema

25/05/2017

- 25/05/2017

Nottingham

Butterleigh Village Hall

14/10/2017

- 14/10/2017

Cullompton

Carlton & Chellington Historical Society

15/03/2018

- 15/03/2018

Carlton

Carlton on Trent Village Hall

16/07/2017

- 16/07/2017

Newark on Trent

Carn to Cove

26/01/2018

- 26/01/2018

Redruth

Carn to Cove

27/01/2018

- 27/01/2018

Redruth

Carn to Cove

31/01/2018

- 31/01/2018

Redruth

Cheshunt U3A

03/10/2017

- 03/10/2017

Chichester Cinema at New Park

19/02/2017

- 22/02/2017

Excluded Dates: 20, 21

Chichester

Cinema Corsley

19/04/2018

- 19/04/2018

Warmister

Cleethorpes Library

04/07/2018

- 04/07/2018

Cleethorpes

Coddington History Group

19/10/2017

- 19/10/2017

Newark

Cranbrook U3A

19/01/2018

- 26/01/2018

Cranbrook

Crowborough Festival Association

11/05/2017

- 11/05/2017

Crowborough

Crowborough Festival Association

22/10/2018

- 23/10/2018

Crowborough

Culmstock Village Hall Committee

13/05/2017

- 13/05/2017

Culmstock

Curzon Cinema & Arts

08/09/2017

- 08/09/2017

Clevedon

Deptford Cinema

23/02/2017

- 23/02/2017

Lewisham,

London

Derby QUAD

23/04/2017

- 25/04/2017

Excluded Dates: 24/04

Derby

Devon Federation of Women's Institutes

26/09/2017

- 26/09/2017

Exeter

Eden Court Theatre

08/04/2017

- 09/04/2017

Electric Picture House (Wotton)

05/03/2017

- 05/03/2017

Wotton-under-Edge

Eltisley History Society

24/05/2017

- 24/05/2017

Eltisley

English Bicknor Local History Group

08/03/2018

- 08/03/2018

English Bicknor

Faringdon and District U3A

17/01/2019

- 17/01/2019

Faringdon

Film@Fram

25/07/2018

- 25/07/2018

Framlingham

Films at Shadforth

05/03/2017

- 05/03/2017

Shadforth

Friends of Newbold Verdon Library

26/01/2018

- 26/01/2018

Newbold Verdon

Friends of St George's Church

09/05/2017

- 09/05/2017

Maldon

Hannington Heritage Group

25/10/2017

- 25/10/2017

Northampton

Harraby Community Theatre

12/03/2018

- 12/03/2018

Carlisle

Hartley Wintney U3A

07/11/2017

- 07/11/2017

Hartley Wintney

Haselbury Plucknett Women's Institute

09/10/2017

- 09/10/2017

Crewkerne

Haverhill Arts Centre

27/06/2017

- 27/06/2017

Haverhill

Hemyock History and Archiving Association

10/05/2018

- 10/05/2018

Hemyock

Hickling Village Hall

21/11/2017

- 21/11/2017

Melton Mowbray

History Group of Banbury and District U3A

17/10/2017

- 17/10/2017

Oxfordshire

Kimbolton Local History Society

07/11/2018

- 07/11/2018

Kimbolton

Lakes Alive

09/09/2017

- 09/09/2017

Kendal

Laxton History Group

21/03/2018

- 21/03/2018

Laxton

Leeds Young Film Festival

19/04/2017

- 19/04/2017

Leeds

Lingfield & Dormansland Community Centre

02/10/2017

- 02/10/2017

Lingfield

Long Sutton Market House

21/01/2019

- 21/01/2019

Long Sutton

Lonsdale Alhambra - Penrith

07/05/2017

- 07/05/2017

Penrith

Ludlow Assembly Rooms

05/03/2017

- 05/03/2017

Ludlow

Malvern Theatres

21/03/2017

- 21/03/2017

Malvern

National Maritime Museum Cornwall

14/11/2018

- 14/11/2018

Falmouth

Newnham Film Club

29/06/2018

- 29/06/2018

Newnham on Severn

North Petherton Women's Institute

08/01/2018

- 08/01/2018

North Petherton

Northern Light Cinema

06/02/2019

- 06/02/2019

Wirksworth

Number 8 Community and Arts Centre

28/07/2017

- 28/07/2017

Pershore

Oakridge History Group

28/11/2018

- 28/11/2018

Stroud

Oakridge History Group

27/11/2019

- 27/11/2019

Stroud

Overton Library

28/06/2018

- 28/06/2018

Basingstoke

Oxen Park Cinema Club

25/03/2017

- 25/03/2017

Ulverston

Pendon Museum

12/05/2018

- 12/05/2018

Nr. Abingdon

Pocklington Arts Centre

03/02/2017

- 03/02/2017

Pocklington

Pomegranate Theatre

23/02/2018

- 23/02/2018

Chesterfield

Queen's Film Theatre

23/04/2017

- 23/04/2017

Belfast

Rayleigh Town Museum

11/01/2018

- 11/01/2018

Rayleigh

Redlake Valley Village Hall Committee

23/05/2017

- 23/05/2017

Bucknell

Regather Co-Op Ltd

23/03/2017

- 23/03/2017

Sheffield

Rural Arts (The Courthouse)

22/09/2017

- 22/09/2017

Thirsk

Saddleworth Civic Trust

15/11/2018

- 15/11/2018

Manchester

Saffron Walden U3A

15/01/2018

- 15/01/2018

Saffron Walden

Salisbury Arts Centre

22/11/2017

- 22/11/2017

Salisbury

Salisbury Civic Society

07/11/2018

- 07/11/2018

Salisbury

Skipton Civic Society

04/04/2018

- 04/04/2018

Skipton

Somerset Film

23/05/2019

- 23/05/2019

Bridgwater

Somerton Local History Group

27/10/2017

- 27/10/2017

South Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre

11/08/2018

- 11/08/2018

Leyland

South Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre

23/08/2018

- 23/08/2018

Leyland

South Yardley Library

19/01/2019

- 21/01/2019

Excluded Dates: 20th

Birmingham

Southgate District Civic Trust

14/11/2017

- 14/11/2017

London

Southgate District Civic Trust

14/05/2019

- 14/05/2019

London

Southwater Village Hall (Welcome Club)

08/03/2017

- 08/03/2017

Horsham

St Nicolas Community Centre

09/11/2017

- 09/11/2017

Guildford

St. Mary's Retired Group

22/02/2017

- 22/02/2017

Nr Belper

Stamford Arts Centre

16/03/2017

- 16/03/2017

Stamford

Stansted Local History Society

04/10/2018

- 04/10/2018

Stansted

Stoke St Gregory WI

13/06/2017

- 13/06/2017

Taunton

Stoodleigh Parish Hall

24/11/2017

- 24/11/2017

Tiverton

Strode Theatre

14/05/2017

- 14/05/2017

Street

Strode Theatre

26/05/2017

- 26/05/2017

Street

Takeley Local History Society

06/02/2018

- 06/02/2018

Takeley

Tarvin Civic Trust

12/12/2017

- 12/12/2017

Tarvin

Thanet U3A

08/11/2017

- 08/11/2017

Ramsgate

Thatcham Town Council

13/10/2017

- 13/10/2017

Thatcham

The Courtyard

12/03/2017

- 12/03/2017

Hereford

The Film Place

06/10/2017

- 06/10/2017

Buckingham

The Forum (Hexham)

28/03/2019

- 28/03/2019

(Screening as part of Tyne Valley Film Festival)

Hexham

The Keep Archives

14/08/2019

- 14/08/2019

Brighton

The Leyburn Arts Centre Ltd

02/05/2017

- 02/05/2017

Leyburn

The Ritz Cinema - Belper

15/10/2017

- 15/10/2017

Belper

The Roses Theatre

26/06/2017

- 28/06/2017

Tewkesbury

The Stowmarket Society

12/10/2017

- 12/10/2017

Stowmarket

The Watermark

08/02/2017

- 08/02/2017

Ivybridge

Three Holes Village Hall

13/08/2017

- 13/08/2017

Three Holes

Tipton St John Community Hall Trustees

18/03/2018

- 18/03/2018

Devon

Tonbridge U3A

16/04/2018

- 16/04/2018

Hildenborough

Ugborough History Group

28/02/2018

- 28/12/2017

Ivybridge

Ugborough History Group

25/05/2018

- 25/05/2018

Ivybridge

Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

25/01/2017

- 14/01/2017

Holywood

Upton Pyne Village Hall

02/09/2017

- 02/09/2017

Exeter

Upton Village Hall Management Committee

20/10/2017

- 20/10/2017

Upton

Waltham Library

11/01/2019

- 11/01/0201

Waltham

Washfield Memorial Hall

29/09/2017

- 29/09/2017

Tiverton

Watershed

16/04/2017

- 19/04/2017

Bristol

Wells Film Centre

27/04/2017

- 27/04/2017

Wells

Wem Town Hall

21/11/2017

- 23/08/2017

Excluded Dates: 22

Wem

Westfield Women's Institute

01/10/2018

- 01/10/2018

St Leonards on Sea

Woolsery West W.I

26/03/2019

- 26/03/2019

Bideford

Abergavenny U3A

09/11/2017

- 09/11/2017

Abergavenny

Ashford Carbonell Village Hall

19/05/2017

- 19/05/2017

Ludlow

Avebury Social Centre Committee

30/03/2017

- 30/03/2017

Avebury

Barton upon Humber Civic Society

16/02/2018

- 16/02/2018

Barton upon Humber

Battle U3A

21/01/2019

- 21/01/2019

Bexhill on Sea

Belford Community Cinema

30/07/2017

- 30/07/2017

Waren Mill, Belford

Belper Leisure Group

23/02/2017

- 23/02/2017

Nr Belper

Butterleigh Village Hall

14/10/2017

- 14/10/2017

Cullompton

Carlton & Chellington Historical Society

15/03/2018

- 15/03/2018

Carlton

Carlton on Trent Village Hall

16/07/2017

- 16/07/2017

Newark on Trent

Carn to Cove

26/01/2018

- 26/01/2018

Redruth

Carn to Cove

27/01/2018

- 27/01/2018

Redruth

Carn to Cove

31/01/2018

- 31/01/2018

Redruth

Cheshunt U3A

03/10/2017

- 03/10/2017

Cinema Corsley

19/04/2018

- 19/04/2018

Warmister

Cleethorpes Library

04/07/2018

- 04/07/2018

Cleethorpes

Coddington History Group

19/10/2017

- 19/10/2017

Newark

Cranbrook U3A

19/01/2018

- 26/01/2018

Cranbrook

Crowborough Festival Association

11/05/2017

- 11/05/2017

Crowborough

Crowborough Festival Association

22/10/2018

- 23/10/2018

Crowborough

Culmstock Village Hall Committee

13/05/2017

- 13/05/2017

Culmstock

Devon Federation of Women's Institutes

26/09/2017

- 26/09/2017

Exeter

Electric Picture House (Wotton)

05/03/2017

- 05/03/2017

Wotton-under-Edge

Eltisley History Society

24/05/2017

- 24/05/2017

Eltisley

English Bicknor Local History Group

08/03/2018

- 08/03/2018

English Bicknor

Faringdon and District U3A

17/01/2019

- 17/01/2019

Faringdon

Film@Fram

25/07/2018

- 25/07/2018

Framlingham

Films at Shadforth

05/03/2017

- 05/03/2017

Shadforth

Friends of Newbold Verdon Library

26/01/2018

- 26/01/2018

Newbold Verdon

Friends of St George's Church

09/05/2017

- 09/05/2017

Maldon

Hannington Heritage Group

25/10/2017

- 25/10/2017

Northampton

Hartley Wintney U3A

07/11/2017

- 07/11/2017

Hartley Wintney

Haselbury Plucknett Women's Institute

09/10/2017

- 09/10/2017

Crewkerne

Haverhill Arts Centre

27/06/2017

- 27/06/2017

Haverhill

Hemyock History and Archiving Association

10/05/2018

- 10/05/2018

Hemyock

Hickling Village Hall

21/11/2017

- 21/11/2017

Melton Mowbray

History Group of Banbury and District U3A

17/10/2017

- 17/10/2017

Oxfordshire

Kimbolton Local History Society

07/11/2018

- 07/11/2018

Kimbolton

Lakes Alive

09/09/2017

- 09/09/2017

Kendal

Laxton History Group

21/03/2018

- 21/03/2018

Laxton

Leeds Young Film Festival

19/04/2017

- 19/04/2017

Leeds

Lingfield & Dormansland Community Centre

02/10/2017

- 02/10/2017

Lingfield

Lonsdale Alhambra - Penrith

07/05/2017

- 07/05/2017

Penrith

National Maritime Museum Cornwall

14/11/2018

- 14/11/2018

Falmouth

Newnham Film Club

29/06/2018

- 29/06/2018

Newnham on Severn

North Petherton Women's Institute

08/01/2018

- 08/01/2018

North Petherton

Number 8 Community and Arts Centre

28/07/2017

- 28/07/2017

Pershore

Oakridge History Group

28/11/2018

- 28/11/2018

Stroud

Oakridge History Group

27/11/2019

- 27/11/2019

Stroud

Overton Library

28/06/2018

- 28/06/2018

Basingstoke

Oxen Park Cinema Club

25/03/2017

- 25/03/2017

Ulverston

Pendon Museum

12/05/2018

- 12/05/2018

Nr. Abingdon

Pocklington Arts Centre

03/02/2017

- 03/02/2017

Pocklington

Rayleigh Town Museum

11/01/2018

- 11/01/2018

Rayleigh

Redlake Valley Village Hall Committee

23/05/2017

- 23/05/2017

Bucknell

Regather Co-Op Ltd

23/03/2017

- 23/03/2017

Sheffield

Rural Arts (The Courthouse)

22/09/2017

- 22/09/2017

Thirsk

Saddleworth Civic Trust

15/11/2018

- 15/11/2018

Manchester

Saffron Walden U3A

15/01/2018

- 15/01/2018

Saffron Walden

Salisbury Arts Centre

22/11/2017

- 22/11/2017

Salisbury

Salisbury Civic Society

07/11/2018

- 07/11/2018

Salisbury

Skipton Civic Society

04/04/2018

- 04/04/2018

Skipton

Somerset Film

23/05/2019

- 23/05/2019

Bridgwater

Somerton Local History Group

27/10/2017

- 27/10/2017

South Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre

11/08/2018

- 11/08/2018

Leyland

South Ribble Museum & Exhibition Centre

23/08/2018

- 23/08/2018

Leyland

South Yardley Library

19/01/2019

- 21/01/2019

Excluded Dates: 20th

Birmingham

Southgate District Civic Trust

14/11/2017

- 14/11/2017

London

Southgate District Civic Trust

14/05/2019

- 14/05/2019

London

Southwater Village Hall (Welcome Club)

08/03/2017

- 08/03/2017

Horsham

St Nicolas Community Centre

09/11/2017

- 09/11/2017

Guildford

St. Mary's Retired Group

22/02/2017

- 22/02/2017

Nr Belper

Stansted Local History Society

04/10/2018

- 04/10/2018

Stansted

Stoke St Gregory WI

13/06/2017

- 13/06/2017

Taunton

Stoodleigh Parish Hall

24/11/2017

- 24/11/2017

Tiverton

Strode Theatre

14/05/2017

- 14/05/2017

Street

Strode Theatre

26/05/2017

- 26/05/2017

Street

Takeley Local History Society

06/02/2018

- 06/02/2018

Takeley

Tarvin Civic Trust

12/12/2017

- 12/12/2017

Tarvin

Thanet U3A

08/11/2017

- 08/11/2017

Ramsgate

Thatcham Town Council

13/10/2017

- 13/10/2017

Thatcham

The Film Place

06/10/2017

- 06/10/2017

Buckingham

The Keep Archives

14/08/2019

- 14/08/2019

Brighton

The Ritz Cinema - Belper

15/10/2017

- 15/10/2017

Belper

The Roses Theatre

26/06/2017

- 28/06/2017

Tewkesbury

The Stowmarket Society

12/10/2017

- 12/10/2017

Stowmarket

Three Holes Village Hall

13/08/2017

- 13/08/2017

Three Holes

Tipton St John Community Hall Trustees

18/03/2018

- 18/03/2018

Devon

Tonbridge U3A

16/04/2018

- 16/04/2018

Hildenborough

Ugborough History Group

28/02/2018

- 28/12/2017

Ivybridge

Ugborough History Group

25/05/2018

- 25/05/2018

Ivybridge

Ulster Folk & Transport Museum

25/01/2017

- 14/01/2017

Holywood

Upton Pyne Village Hall

02/09/2017

- 02/09/2017

Exeter

Upton Village Hall Management Committee

20/10/2017

- 20/10/2017

Upton

Waltham Library

11/01/2019

- 11/01/0201

Waltham

Washfield Memorial Hall

29/09/2017

- 29/09/2017

Tiverton

Wells Film Centre

27/04/2017

- 27/04/2017

Wells

Wem Town Hall

21/11/2017

- 23/08/2017

Excluded Dates: 22

Wem

Westfield Women's Institute

01/10/2018

- 01/10/2018

St Leonards on Sea

Woolsery West W.I

26/03/2019

- 26/03/2019

Bideford

Arts Picturehouse

15/03/2018

- 15/03/2018

Cambridge

Chichester Cinema at New Park

19/02/2017

- 22/02/2017

Excluded Dates: 20, 21

Chichester

Barn Cinema

26/03/2017

- 29/03/2017

Excluded Dates: 27 & 28

Totnes

Curzon Cinema & Arts

08/09/2017

- 08/09/2017

Clevedon

The Watermark

08/02/2017

- 08/02/2017

Ivybridge

Watershed

16/04/2017

- 19/04/2017

Bristol

BFI Southbank

10/07/2017

- 10/07/2017

Lambeth,

London

Deptford Cinema

23/02/2017

- 23/02/2017

Lewisham,

London

Brewery Arts Centre

11/09/2019

- 12/09/2019

Kendal

Harraby Community Theatre

12/03/2018

- 12/03/2018

Carlisle

Long Sutton Market House

21/01/2019

- 21/01/2019

Long Sutton

The Forum (Hexham)

28/03/2019

- 28/03/2019

(Screening as part of Tyne Valley Film Festival)

Hexham

The Leyburn Arts Centre Ltd

02/05/2017

- 02/05/2017

Leyburn

Broadway Cinema

25/05/2017

- 25/05/2017

Nottingham

Derby QUAD

23/04/2017

- 25/04/2017

Excluded Dates: 24/04

Derby

Ludlow Assembly Rooms

05/03/2017

- 05/03/2017

Ludlow

Malvern Theatres

21/03/2017

- 21/03/2017

Malvern

Northern Light Cinema

06/02/2019

- 06/02/2019

Wirksworth

Pomegranate Theatre

23/02/2018

- 23/02/2018

Chesterfield

Stamford Arts Centre

16/03/2017

- 16/03/2017

Stamford

The Courtyard

12/03/2017

- 12/03/2017

Hereford

Eden Court Theatre

08/04/2017

- 09/04/2017

Queen's Film Theatre

23/04/2017

- 23/04/2017

Belfast

The second programme from Britain on Film on Tour is an evocative exploration of the countryside of the UK, taking in the diverse and beautiful landscapes of all our home nations.

Britain on Film: Rural Life takes audiences down the country lanes of the past, meandering through the dwindling customs of another era. Relive the work of the local blacksmith preparing shoes for the horses that will plough the fields, and the shepherd’s trials as he protects his flock from an encroaching storm. Be swept up in the homemade entertainment and giggles of children at the country fair and the joyful freedoms of the dance in the village hall.

Touching on all the technological, industrial and social changes that affected our countryside throughout the 20th century, these films evoke and encourage not only nostalgia, but also broader and more meaningful reflections on the nature of rural life and village communities in the UK today.

There are a limited number of opportunities to have an archive film specialist introduce your screening of Britain on Film: Rural Life, please ask when booking about their availability.

Play Dates

This title is no longer available for booking from the ICO

Machynlleth (In the Heart of Cambria) (1929)

A beautiful, Pathécolor vision of the Powys market town of Machynlleth, famous as the location where the rebellious Owen Glendower was crowned Prince of Wales in 1404 (Cambria is the classical name for Wales).

O'Er Hill and Dale (1932)

Filmed by Basil Wright in the Cheviot Hills bordering Scotland, O’er Hill and Dale depicts a day in the life of a shepherd, Mr Martin. Wright worked without a crew, lugging his Newman Sinclair camera, tripod, lenses and film stock across the hills as he followed the shepherd and his flock.

Great Hucklow Jubilee by L. du Garde Peach (1935)

Great Hucklow Jubilee (1935)

These gorgeous scenes of Great Hucklow capture the Derbyshire village’s preparations for the celebration of King George V’s Silver Jubilee. Shot by one of its most famous residents, British screenwriter L. du Garde Peach, it’s a charming portrait of life and laughter in the Pennine village.

Britain on Film: Rural Life

The "Dry Village" (1964)

Enjoy James Boyce’s cautionary tale of two villages; one with no pub, the other with six. Hear what the residents of model Quaker village Bessbrook think of their founder John Grubb Richardson’s social experiment. Do the beautiful surroundings compensate for the lack of drink?

The Village Pet (1931)

This heart-warming newsreel item shows Billy, the ‘pet’ seal, tentatively accepting a fish supper from his adoptive family – the good folk of Warham in Norfolk.

Britain on Film: Rural Life

West of England (1951)

Glorious Technicolor casts a dreamlike spell over Gloucestershire’s Stroud valleys in this gorgeous short film. Author Laurie Lee, whose 1960 book Cider with Rosie drew on childhood memories of the area, contributes the script for a narration which accompanies painterly images of evergreen scenery, people and industry.

Cold War Villages (1981)

In 1981, with no freeze in the Cold War in sight, plans are afoot to build a nuclear bunker for 400 people. A good idea perhaps, but perhaps not at Morcott in Rutland, which only has a population of 300? Meanwhile, at Monyash in Derbyshire, landlord Decio Tettanni explains to Terry Lloyd how his pub has become the village’s early warning nerve centre.

Any Man's Kingdom (1956)

One of many Technicolor travelogues highlighting the attractions of individual English counties, Any Man’s Kingdom took British Transport Films’ cameras to Northumberland, the northernmost part of England. As the commentary makes clear, it’s a turbulent part of the country in climate, geography and history alike.

The Blacksmith (1941)

‘Things aren’t what they used to be’: Mr Bosley, village blacksmith at Corfe, near Taunton, is the subject of this informative yet quietly elegiac study of ancient craftsmanship. The commentary talks us through the process of shoeing a horse, seen in spare, patiently composed images gracefully evoking an ageless sunlit Somerset day.

Eardisland Village (1978)

Eardisland, a picture postcard Herefordshire village, was about to be given conservation status by Hereford and Worcester Council when ATV Today visited in 1978. But local people fighting to save their village school were not happy as it would curtail new development. How can a village thrive with an ageing population and no new blood?

Day in the Hayfields (1904)

This gorgeous bucolic film made by the Hepworth Company in 1904, blends two of the most popular non-fiction genres of early cinema – the industrial and the scenic. Look out for the shots of children playing in the fields with abandon and chucking hay at each other.

Skating on Lough Neagh (1963)

As the Big Freeze plays havoc with the working life of Northern Ireland, there is plenty of time for play. The frozen lough is call to the adventurous and the ridiculous and dogs, dancers and even drivers take to the ice!

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