Town’s past recalled in movie screenings

The Treasure House, in Champney Road, will start screening its popular Film and Sound Archive Presents series next week, which was hugely successful last year.

The series will start with Black and White Beverley, featuring local films from the 1930s and 1940s that were shot by Ernest Symmons, the former proprietor of the Picture Playhouse.

This will be followed by other presentations, including Beverley Industry, which looks back at some of the industrial giants of the town’s past, such as Armstrong’s and Hodgson’s Tannery, using a mixture of contemporary and archive footage.

Six films were initially screened last September which drew a combined audience of more than 500 people and led to repeat screenings to accommodate the demand.

The first show, based on some of Mr Symmons’s films, was watched by 140 people.

The collections officer at the Treasure House, Sam Bartle, said the films were of great significance to residents and people with connections to the town.

He said: “It’s great that local people can have the opportunity and privilege of seeing archive footage about their area, which they might otherwise have missed.

“Last year, during screenings of Black and White Beverley, a number of people spotted family and friends amongst the footage, which they really appreciated.”

The first film will be shown in the Education Room on Tuesday from 6.30pm. Admission costs £3 and places must be booked in advance as only 50 seats are available for each screening. To book or find out more call (01482) 392790.

The Treasure House hosts the East Riding Archives, Beverley Local Studies Library, Beverley Art Gallery, Beverley Guildhall and the Archaeology of the East Riding Museums Service.