This film is part of Free
Employees Leaving Brown's Atlas Works, Sheffield (1901)
Workers are marshalled past the gate of one of Yorkshire's biggest steel firms.
Overview
Staging is common in Mitchell and Kenyon's 'factory gate' films. These workers at John Brown & Co.'s huge Sheffield ironworks are very obviously being chivvied past the camera by a smartly-dressed, bowler-hatted man - possibly Isaac Thomas, brother of regular M&K commissioner AD Thomas. In the concluding shot, an assortment of workers and children wave cheerfully to the camera.
Sheffield-born industrialist Sir John Brown (1816-96) was a major figure in the south Yorkshire iron trade. He founded his company in 1844, and opened the Atlas Works in Brightside in 1856: before the decade was out, the site had grown to 30 acres. Brown made his fortune making rails for the rapidly expanding rail network before turning to armour plate for the Royal Navy. He was knighted for services to British industry in 1867. Mitchell and Kenyon filmed the factory the year before Brown's merged with neighbouring Thomas Firth & Sons and began specialising in stainless steel manufacture. The company still exists as part of Sheffield Forgemasters, but the majority of the Atlas Works site was demolished in the 1980s.
Related
Workforce of Parkgate Iron and Steel Co., Rotherham (1901) Workforce of Parkgate Iron and Steel Co., Rotherham (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
North Sea Fisheries, North Shields (1901) North Sea Fisheries, North Shields (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: North Shields
Girls gut herring on the quay at North Shields while a Showman tries to stir up trouble.
Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery (1901) Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Pendlebury
A black miner makes an intriguing addition to an already captivating film of coal workers up from their pit.
Workforce Leaving Alfred Butterworth and Sons, Glebe Mills, Hollinwood (1901) Workforce Leaving Alfred Butterworth and Sons, Glebe Mills, Hollinwood (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Hollinwood
A flood of Lancashire cotton workers and their children at the end of another shift.
Workers Leaving the Jute Works, Barrow (1902) Workers Leaving the Jute Works, Barrow (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 2 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
A cheerful, largely female crowd makes their way home from work.
Employees Leaving Tangyes Engineering Works, Smethwick (1901) Employees Leaving Tangyes Engineering Works, Smethwick (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Birmingham
Exuberant scenes of engineers and machinists at the famous Cornwall works near Birmingham.
The Queen at Sheffield The Queen at Sheffield
Documentary 1897 1 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Sheffield gives the capital a run for its money with an impressive parade celebrating the monarch, a month before the Diamond Jubilee.
Special Olympics Special Olympics
Factual TV 1988 5 mins Location: Sheffield
Sheffield professional sportsmen train determined disabled adults to compete at the Special Olympics in this heart-warming short film. (
Women's Munitions Workers, Sheffield Women's Munitions Workers, Sheffield
Amateur film 1940 7 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Highly-skilled women defy 1940s gender prejudices and produce munitions in one of Sheffield’s many wartime factories.
Wartime Events in Sheffield Wartime Events in Sheffield
Amateur film 1942 19 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Military men and women from Sheffield put on a show from 1942-1947 in this patriotic compilation film.
Bus Strike Traffic Bus Strike Traffic
Non-Fiction 1959 9 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
A Sheffield bus strike causes traffic congestion in this film that shows the significant local impact that a workplace dispute can have.
Sheffield Peace March Sheffield Peace March
Amateur film 1936 7 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
As the rise of fascism casts a shadow over Europe, the people of Sheffield take to the streets to deliver a powerful message.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.