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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Kingsbridge Carnival
Kingsbridge Carnival Parade - all week long they danced and smiled
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Overview
This film shows local dignitaries joining a parade during the Kingsbridge Carnival, with floats and locals in fancy dress enjoying the festivities. This amateur film by Tom Kyffyn is important because enthusiasm for the fair ebbed after its quincentenary in 1961 and this was filmed in 1971, two years after its 1969 relaunch. The Kingsbridge Fair week as it is known is an annual July fixture enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
The Kingsbridge Fair finds its origins in 1219. The fair was a commercial one, where livestock and goods were bought and sold and tax dues paid. Abbot John Matthew is granted a royal charter to hold the fair in 1461. This is celebrated in a glove-hanging ceremony on the Wednesday of Fair Week. Today’s procession of floats and with a Queen of the Carnival are later additions where revellers come out annually to parade through the town during the week of St. Margaret’s Day on 20 July. Kingsbridge is a market town which grew around a bridge between two royal estates, Alvington and Chillington around the 10th Century.
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