Chipping Campden - A pastoral portrait

A pastoral portrait of the Cotswolds town in the mid-1930s – a bucolic bubble amid the Great Depression.

“Look up the words idyllic or pastoral in the dictionary and this film should be there as a definition. The Cotswolds wool trade built some great fortunes and splendid villages, with few as charming as Chipping Campden. The biggest contrast with today is the lack of tourists, but with the country racked by the Great Depression this bucolic bubble was ripe to pop. “

This 10-minute film made in 1935 is available to view for free on the British Film Institute website

The Evesham Journal of 24th June 1933 reported news of the filming:

For several days past two representatives of the Gaumont British Picture Corporation – in the person of Major Hubert Mason and Mr Roy Kellino – have been busy filming places and matters of interest in Campden.

“Major Mason informed our local representative that the pictures are to form part of a series of “Interest films” of various parts of England and these films are for distribution all over the world. With the kind co-operation of local residents he has been able to get some interesting studies, despite adverse weather conditions. A particularly interesting shot was taken from the top of the church tower. Patience plays a great part in this kind of work, for instance, in order to obtain a picture of the Hicks Tomb in the Parish Church, it was necessary to visit the church on three successive mornings at 5.30am, because the sun only plays on the figures for a few moments and on the first two occasions just at the crucial moment the sun was obscured by clouds. If the weather improves it is intended to photograph the whole of the Cotswolds.”

No Comments

Start the ball rolling by posting a comment on this page!

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.