Film show: Leek and the story of silk twisting

Name: Film show: Leek and the story of silk twisting
Start: 2025-09-18T14:30:00+01:00
Location: Brampton Park, ST5 0QP Newcastle under Lyme, United Kingdom

Schedule

Thu, 18 Sep, 2025 at 02:30 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Brampton Park, ST5 0QP Newcastle under Lyme, United Kingdom | Newcastle-under-lyme, EN

This film kicks off the Textiles Takeover at the Brampton Museum, an autumn prgramme of exhibitions, talks and events relating to the textile heritage of Newcastle and North Staffordshire.
It is also being shown to remember Paul Anderton - historian, lecturer, and supporter of the Brampton Museumm. Paul worked with Ray Johnson on the second film in this presentation
First reel:An archive film show from Ray Johnson looking at Leek and the story of silk twisting. The screening begins with three 1901 Mitchell & Kenyon films from the personal collection of Ray Johnson, who collaborated with filmmaker Peter Worden in Blackburn when he discovered the films in the former M&K premises. They are “factory gate” continuous single-shot films – the entire company of factory workers exiting the factory and walking toward and past the camera. They are animated photographs - this is before the era of narrative films.
Second reel: Leek and the Story of Silk Twisting
A 1994 interview with Douglas Barks, who worked at the Wellington Mill for 40 years.The interview shows Donald at work in the various departments of the mill.This 50-minute film was made in 1988 to capture on video all departments of the Wellington Silk Mill in Leek, owned by the Whittles family, while it was still in full production. It was researched by historian Paul Anderton and produced with him by Ray Johnson of Staffordshire Film Archive.