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Workers Leaving Guest and Chrimes Brassworks, Rotherham (1901)

Employees of a South Yorkshire brassworks walk or cycle past the camera.

Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent

Overview

Probably shot in spring or autumn (it's sunny, but the clothes suggest it wasn't warm), this film shows the entirely male workforce leaving this Rotherham foundry. Most are on foot, although two have bicycles. They seem more aware of the camera than in similar films, and the younger lads (and some adults) spontaneously form a mini-parade at the very end, waving their caps in the air.

Peter and Edward Chrimes first established a brass foundry in Rotherham's Market Place in 1843, initially specialising in high-pressure taps but quickly moving into fire hydrants, sluice valves and similar items. John Guest joined the firm in 1847, and the firm relocated to its present site in 1857. As of 2013, the building remains standing, although it has been in disuse since the foundry's closure in 1999.