Sheepwashing, Thornton Rust (North Yorkshire)

Description

Film taken during a visit by various members of Institute of Dialects and Folk Life Studies (IDFLS) staff to Thornton Rust ( Wensleydale) to record farmers washing sheep in Outgang Beck. The custom of washing sheep in the beck was revived especially for this visit for the first time since 1935. The film includes footage of sheep being gathered into a stone fold on the edge of the sheep washing pool; people gathered to watch the sheep washing; farmers throwing sheep from the fold into the sheep washing pool; sheep swimming through and out of the pool; a farmer standing in the pool dipping the sheep; children watching from the stone wall of the sheep fold; a farmer's wife pouring shots of rum for the farmers; farmers undamming the beck and gradually letting the water out from the washing pool.


Other members of staff present on the trip were Stanley Ellis, Ingemar Liman and Werner Kissling. The film includes brief shots of Werner Kissling.


1 of 2. The film box is labelled Reel 1.

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

DVD access copies of the films are available for consultation. References for the DVD copies are given in the item-level record for each film.

Copyright in all these items resides with the individual film makers.

Related material

Photographs of the sheep washing event, taken by Werner Kissling and Ingemar Liman, are held at LAVC/PHO/P0598 -0701.


Audio tape recordings of the event, made by Stanley Ellis and including brief interviews with farmers, are held on tape LAVC/SRE/A875r . A typed Tape Table of Contents for this tape is held in file LAVC/SRE/ARI/034.


Stewart Sanderson's account of the event, 'Sheep-washing in the North of England', offprinted from 'Erixoniana II', volume IV (1970), is held at LAVC/FLF/3/3/4.

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