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Hat from a Rabbit

How Stockport got ahead in hatting - the story of the rise and fall of a North West industry.

Documentary 1978 11 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for North West Film Archive

Overview

This quirky and informative film was shot during the last days of the once-mighty Stockport hatting industry. It reveals how the town's hat manufacturers flourished in the 19th century, but then came the 20th century decline in hat wearing. This decline would lead to the end of hat making in Stockport, but here we see some of the traditional hat making processes - a fine record of a lost industry.

This film was produced by undergraduate film students at Manchester Polytechnic, now Manchester Metropolitan University.