Macclesfield’s rich history captured for big screen

Thu 28th January 2010 2.06PM

FASCINATING film footage from Macclesfield’s past is being given a public screening in the town as part of a major project by The North West Film Archive. ‘Macclesfield on Film’ is part of its programme to make its fascinating collection of moving history available to people across the region. The special screening will take place on Thursday, February 4, at 7.30pm at Cinemac in The Heritage Centre on Roe Street.

Film from the Macclesfield area over the past 100 years will be shown, giving a fascinating insight into the industries, events and traditions of the area. You can join in with the Silk Queen of 1932 at the annual parade and watch the daring men of Sir Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus as they take to the skies in 1934. Relive your schooldays with the children of Elworth and take a colourful trip through wartime Knutsford. Find out how the Cheshire Plain fed the big city in ‘Summer on the farm’ and how the beautiful silks that made Macclesfield famous were produced.

Take a stroll along the long-closed railway from Poynton to Macclesfield in a TV documentary from 1985 and see how your daily pinta was under threat in 1974. The Archive’s Service Manager Marion Hewitt said “This is a great opportunity for the people of the Macclesfield area to enjoy an evening with a difference, and take a look back at local life in the past century”. Northwest Vision and Media’s Alice Morrison said “The North West Film Archive is one of our region's real gems and Northwest Vision and Media are proud to support ‘Macclesfield on Film’, enabling local people to access a piece of their region's past”. The evening’s show will be presented by the Archive’s Collections Assistant Geoff Senior.

Tickets are £4.50 and £4 for concessions and can be obtained in advance from the box office or by calling 07871 422937. The venue seats 250. The North West Film Archive has been based at Manchester Metropolitan University since 1977 and is the publicly recognised home for moving images about life in the North West of England.