The Last Horsemen: 2
From the collection of
The Last Fishermen: 2
- Boulmer
- 2003-04-13
The Last Horsemen: 2
Spring brings a time for sowing a new crop, using horse-drawn equipment purchased for only £12. An artist gives his impressions of a horse's life.
Until the early 20th century, horses were the dominant powerhouses in agriculture in both the cultivation of land and the transportation of goods. In the 1920s, more than 25 million horses and mules were working the land; by the early 1960s these numbers had dropped to a 10th of that number - where they remain to this day.Before the horse, oxen were used to cultivate the land, a practice that still continues in some parts of the world. However, it soon became clear that horses were easier to handle and quicker for agricultural work than oxen which were more valuable as a food. Man first began to domesticate horses around 5500 years ago, but it has only been in the past 1000 years that their importance grew, with the invention and use of the harness to attach the horse to the plough or cart.The horse's dominance in agriculture began to fade in the early 19th century, with the introduction of steam power. Richard Trevithick's first 'semi-portable' stationary steam engine was designed for agricultural use in 1812. The first gasoline powered tractor was invented by Iowa native John Froelich in 1892, with the use of the term 'tractor' first being used by fellow the America Hart Parr company in a 1903 advertisement for their self-propelled traction engine. The development of cheaper and more versatile vehicles led to an explosion in the use of tractors in agriculture and to companies who dominate the market today such as John Deere, Ferguson, and New Holland.
Beautifully filmed documentary series about a year in the life of the remarkable John Dodd, who farms in the stunning landscape of the Allen Valley in Northumberland. John is unique: instead of using tractors, he still relies on five giant Clydesdale horses to work the land. He has passed on his skills to his son-in-law David and is now teaching his grandson Richard. Together they battle the elements to make a living for themselves and preserve a rare and wonderful way of life.
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Charles Boden's 'The Last...' Series
A vanishing way of life in the North East of England captured on film in three television series featuring traditional ways farming, fishing, and shepherding.
The desire to capture a way of life before it was gone was the motivation of Charles Bowden, a Northumberland farmer's son, to produce the series known as The Last Farmer in 2000. Beginning his career as an agricultural journalist and becoming agricultural editor of the Newcastle Journal between 1975 and 1985, he moved to Tyne Tees Television to produce its weekly farming programme. It was during this time that Charles first met John Dodd and his family of Sillywrea Farm, near Allendale in Northumberland, who continued to use heavy horses to work the land, long after their neighbours had turned to the tractor. For a full year Charles filmed John, his son-on-law David Wise and their five huge Clydesdales running the farm to the rhythms of the seasons, allowing nature to lead the way.
The success of this series led to two follow ups: The Last Fisherman in 2003, about the vanishing way of life this time of two North-East coble fishermen, and The Last Shepherds in 2004, following several hill shepherds working the Northumberland Cheviot Hills. All three series are a unique record of an alternative way of life before it potentially slips into history.
11 videos in this collection
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The Last Fishermen: 2
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The Last Shepherds: 1
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The Last Shepherds: 2
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The Last Shepherds: 3
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The Last Shepherds: 4
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The Last Horsemen: 1
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The Last Horsemen: 2
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The Last Horsemen: 3
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The Last Horsemen: 4
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The Last Horsemen: 5
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