During the early years of the 20th Century, when moving film footage was in its infancy, Ken Dawe’s family bought a 9.5 mm movie camera and proceeded to capture village events and historically significant working practises in Bishopsteignton. The films they collected record early farming implements and machinery, village weddings in all their glory, and the early lives of villagers of the time. In the 1970s Ken’s family had the footage transferred to DVD.
Elder residents of the village may remember seeing the film at some point due to a showing courtesy of Viv Wilson M.B.E. when it was displayed at the Ring of Bells. The collection was then rather jumbled and cut together haphazardly so BH have edited the film into sections, so that events and people can be more easily identified, and we have synchronised it with a commentary by Ken Dawe on what he remembers the films to be.
This is a gem of historic film footage that we are very glad has not been lost. If you recognise anyone in the film and have any more information on any of the footage, please do let us know and we can incorporate any additional details into this article. We hope you enjoy this unique piece of village history.
