Building a Cob house in a day.

Imagine the year is 1650, a young couple, Jacob and Catherine are about to get married, but have nowhere to live together. Their respective houses are already over-crowded. Up to 10 or more people would live in a Cob house 25 feet long and 13 feet wide.

Hence the practice of erecting a house in a single day by the whole village for the newly-weds. A communal venture. Once the house was completed, the householder would treat their guests to a party of eating, drinking and dancing.

But how was it possible to build a house in a little over sixteen hours, and could it be re-attempted 350 years later? The following is an account of an incredible day and a brilliant group of volunteers who made it all possible.

Our thanks to the staff at Meridian Broadcasting in Northam for their help in sourcing this film.

18th century Agisters and pigs with rights to wander are just some of the ancient traditions celebrated in this beguiling look at life in the New Forest. Less familiar sights are captured, too, such as broom making and logging, forestry planting and sailing on the River Beaulieu near Buckler's Hard. No film about the area would be complete, though, without the famous Forest ponies – who are seen here in all their equine glory.

Black and White
Director Roy Layzell
Featuring John Snagge
Released 1952

https://www.fawleyonline.org.uk/forest-heritage/
A portrait of the landscape, people and traditions of the New Forest in the 1950s.

Forest Heritage is a poetic portrait of life in the New Forest in the 1950s.

The cinematography by Roy Layzell, music by Clifton Parker and commentary by John Snagge combine to make this a gem amongst the documentary ‘shorts’ of the period.

It was commissioned by the Esso Petroleum Company in 1952, just as they were establishing a new refinery on the eastern edge of the New Forest at Fawley, but Forest Heritage is entirely concerned with the natural beauty and traditions of the area: ‘A place out of this modern world where simple pleasures are enough – a miraculous survival of pre-Norman England’.

A look at how cattle which roam on the New Forest prairies are rounded up and checked once a year. New Forest, Hampshire. L/S of a red van driving up a leafy road, it passes some cows stood at the side. Various shots of cattle grazing at the side of the road as cars drive past. L/S of several people on horseback rounding the cattle up in a prairie. Various shots as they round the cattle up and herd them up the prairie. L/S as the cattle walk through a stream followed by seven herders. Various shots as the herders on horseback follow the cattle. Various shots of the cattle herded together, M/S as they go into a field. C/U of one of the men on a horse. M/S of the cows crowded together, M/S as they are herded under a tree. M/S as a man approaches one with a pair of clippers, M/S as he clips a bit of hair away from the cow's back. C/U as he brushes it away to reveal the letter 'R' branded on its back. M/S as another man clips a cow, C/U of a young man looking on. M/S of a man putting a rope round a heifer's neck. M/S of a man on horseback. M/S as a heifer is pulled along by the rope

Southampton 1900, A Tram Journey. Starting at North Gate, Bargate Arch. North along Above Bar Street. Finishing at The Clock Tower, Palmerston Park.

Scenic views of the Hampshire village of Beaulieu and the countryside around it. Story featuring scenes around Beaulieu. Part of the SAXON TO NORMAN issue. Various shots of this pretty Saxon New Forest village. A horse and carriage goes along a street. Various shots of the scenic countryside around the village, including Beaulieu Heath. Shots of the nearby river. Shots of Beaulieu abbey. Shots of the remains of the Cloister gardens