Tuesday, July 28, 2020

A portrait of Northampton in 1963



Click on the image of Northampton greyhound stadium above to view this film on the British Film Institute site.

There the blurb runs:
This exhaustively detailed account of Northampton in the early 1960s may lack cinematic flair but the passage of time has left us with a snapshot of a town on the up and keen to expand. This film was made for an unnamed company that was keen to relocate to Northampton - or as they tell us, to the town which has shopping facilities that compare with any London suburb and houses to rent for only 30 shillings a week. If you're a local you might even spot your own home.
The greyhound stadium in Cotton End lasted only another year and the outdoor pool by the Nene in Midsummer Meadow closed in 1983.

3 comments:

david walsh said...


!Your employer is relocating to Northampton. Will this film convince you it's a good idea for you too?!b Well fine and dandy for an economy coming out of recession - so time to give another spin to the UFO making an emergency stop in the place in the late 70's and then advertising its attractions ? Cannot remember the female singer, but she was linked, I think, to Trevor Horn

brandnewguy said...

Ian Nairn mourning the loss of the Northampton that made way for the modern development:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ8eyMqJkwY

Jonathan Calder said...

David: The song about the UFO is Energy in Northampton. It was sung by Linda Jardim, who later appeared on Video Killed the Radio Star.

brandnewguy: Thanks, I thought of that Ian Nairn video when I watched this video too. It has been on this blog.