The Final Sale at Sleaford Livestock Market

From the collection of

MACE is the strategic lead organisation for screen heritage for the East and West Midlands regions. An independent charity based at University of Lincoln, MACE preserves and makes accessible a collection of more than 100,000 historic moving images representative of the diverse cultures and histories of communities throughout the heart of England from the Lincolnshire coast to the Welsh border.

The Final Sale at Sleaford Livestock Market

Media Archive for Central England
Sleaford
1984-11-12
Sound

With a history stretching back to King Henry II it's not surprising that the end of Sleaford livestock market is a bitter one.

Sleaford livestock market in Lincolnshire had a long and illustrious history. Traders were selling produce there in the medieval period and it subsequently went on to become the county's biggest livestock market. However, an increase in arable farming in the county resulted in less livestock and, therefore, a reduced need for a place to sell animals. By 1984 Sleaford livestock market's best years were long gone and the last sale was a sad affair.Nostalgia for a time when farming wasn't skewed by EU subsidies is paramount in this news item but, underlying the yearning for bygone times, there is still a need to decide what to do with such a large historic site.

Andrew Simmons reports on the closure of Sleaford livestock market, which has been in existence for hundreds of years.

The Final Hooter: A Farewell to Midlands Industry

A reminder that the Midlands was once a global industrial force that was brought to its knees by recession and government policies in the 1980s.

The 1980s saw the industrial landscape of the UK change forever. A deep economic recession, combined with a drive to develop the country’s financial sector meant the end-of-the-line for many famous firms across the country, a fair proportion of them based in the Midlands. Nationally, there were upwards of 3 million people unemployed between 1982 and 1986 – 12.5% of the population. In the Midlands the gates closed on pits, mills and foundries - big employers that had provided work for generations of families. Smaller enterprises fared no better, with working men’s clubs and bingo halls finding themselves out of step with a younger generation that wasn’t interested in their parents’ and grandparents’ idea of a night out. This collection is an often poignant look at the final days of Victorian industrial giants and small family run businesses. It includes interviews with people about to, or having just lost their jobs, their anger and sadness palpable. In spite of this, there are some bright patches against the grey – as doors close we see the Midlanders’ innate capacity for change come to the fore, looking into the future, not the past.