Watercress Farm (1961)

Bere Regis, Dorset.



C/U of a small water fountain surrounded by watercress; L/S of the watercress beds; a man is seen pushing a wheelbarrow along a narrow path between the beds. An elderly man is seen scattering watercress seeds over wet ground as commentator tells us at this watercress farm they produce probably more watercress than anywhere in the world, and this farm has an endless supply of pure spring water rising from below ground.



Various shots of watercress; a line of men bending double to pick bunches of it; huge piles of watercress in boxes. The boxes are put on a small train which travels between the beds and the packing sheds.



On reaching the sheds, the boxes of watercress are put under showers, then some women tie the cress into small bundles. The ends are cut off and the cress is put into small wooden crates that run down a gravity conveyor. M/Ss as a young man puts some flaked ice into the base of the crates.



M/Ss of a table with a large bowl of watercress in the centre; two men eat some with their fingers and put some on their bread and butter.



Note: print used for telecine transfer is quite badly scratched; neg is incomplete. On file are news cuttings about the watercress industry; one is about Bedford and Jesty who ran the Silvasprings Watercress Farm seen here. There are also notes with the names of all the workers seen, too numerous to mention here.



Cuts exist - see separate record.
FILM ID:149.13

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