The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
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Beating the Bounds in Penzance
Beating the bounds in Penzance with a traditional walk of the parish boundaries
From the collection of:
Overview
The tradition of beating the bounds in Penzance is where parishioners check the town’s boundary stones and halfpennies are thrown for the children at St John’s Hall. Young and old, including the Mayor are turned upside down and bumped on the stones. This tradition, dating back to before the Norman Conquest in some parts of the country, continues in Penzance until 1974 when the Borough Council ceases as an administrative entity.
The ceremony is revived in 2014 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the granting of a Royal Charter to Penzance by King James I in 1614. Four original bound-stones erected in 1687 in a half-mile radius from the Market Cross in Greenmarket are struck four times by four people during the ritual. Two of these original stones exist at Chyandour and St Clare. A third bound-stone was replaced at Alverton as was the fourth at Wherrytown after its loss in the storm of March 1962. Seven new bound-stones were erected around the borough in 1934 and this film is the thirtieth anniversary celebration.
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