This film is part of Free

Workers at Spring Bank Mill, Nelson (1900)
Lively Lancashire millworkers, including young boys and girls, at the mill gates.
Overview
The practice of employing children to work 'half-time' was widespread in the cotton mills of Lancashire. Here, many of them appear to be in high spirits, though they may have been encouraged by the filmmakers. James Kenyon had a habit of staging colourful incidents for the camera and he - or another showman - may well have prompted some of the rough and tumble action seen here.
Related

Caefelin Laundry, Llangollen Caefelin Laundry, Llangollen
Home movie 1937 20 mins Silent Location: Llangollen
Nellie Boote's laundry in Market Street in operation, the women dashing away with all manner of smoothing irons as clothes are sorted, mended, washed, ironed and sorted again.

For Sheer Perfection For Sheer Perfection
Documentary 1965 24 mins Location: Langley Mill
A mile of yarn and a million loops to make one stocking: the culmination of a four hundred year old craft.

Paper Fashion Paper Fashion
News 1967 6 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Fashion doesnt grow on treesor does it! Tyne Tees TV was bang on-trend with this brilliant news feature on the hip 1960s cult for a disposable age - paper fashion.

Fancy Yarn Production Fancy Yarn Production
Industry sponsored film 1971 23 mins Location: Greengates
Twisted yarns and empty spindles, everything from BouclΓ© to Slub yarn, from beginning to end, and all, in the end, displayed on a βnormalβ model in typical 1970s fashion.

Messrs. Barlow and Jones Ltd., Manchester and Bolton Messrs. Barlow and Jones Ltd., Manchester and Bolton
Promotional 1919 19 mins Silent Location: Bolton
From raw resource to finished product, by cleaning and spinning, weaving and bleaching - take a look at the textile industry from the inside.

Winter Fashions have been Modelled in a Park in Exmouth Winter Fashions have been Modelled in a Park in Exmouth
Current affairs 1977 2 mins Silent Location: Exmouth
Wearing Fur gets Hairy

The Lancashire Way The Lancashire Way
Advert 1948 4 mins Location: Nelson
A tribute to Lancashire, land of industry, leisure, sublime landscape - and laundry detergent

Workers at Bradley Shed, Nelson, Lancashire (1900) Workers at Bradley Shed, Nelson, Lancashire (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Silent Location: Nelson
Athletic young Lancashire cotton weavers show off outside their Victorian mill.

Felling of Hibson Road Brick Works Chimney in Nelson (1906) Felling of Hibson Road Brick Works Chimney in Nelson (1906)
Non-Fiction 1906 2 mins Silent Location: Nelson
A chimney explosion in Edwardian Nelson, near Burnley, presents an exciting public spectacle.

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 childrenβs 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.

China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.