STONEMAN

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 16th Year

Issue

Issue No.

2

Date Released

Oct 1962

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1HOLIDAY ON WHEELS
2. 2STONEMAN
3. 3FRED’S PITCH
4. 4THE LIMBURG WALK

Story

Story No. within this Issue

2 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: Eric Parsons, a stoneman at Bowburn Colliery, is an expert in 11th-to-15th-century pottery.
NCB Commentary - "One of the most expert amateur archaeologists the North has produced" - that’s the description applied to Eric Parsons by Professor Birley of Durham University.
Nothing is too small for Eric’s attention and, believe it or not, this clay pipe-stem is really old. He’s a stoneman at Bowman Colliery and every leisure moment is spent in searching the countryside around his native Durham. Here he’s inspecting the loggia of a mansion house built in 1590.
Every day he visits the Archaeology Department where he is engaged with university staff in a detailed study of medieval pottery. This outsize early fourteenth century pitcher was unearthed by Eric during the excavations for the building of a Durham store.
With Brian Dobson, Staff Tutor in Archaeology and other colleagues, Eric is helping to place a piece of stone window tracery found on a local archaeological site.
Although an amateur, he is an expert in eleventh to fifteenth century pottery and his opinion is valued at the University.
Eric sums up his own interest in the past - "It I can fit one tiny piece into the jig-saw of the history of the north-east; I’ll be satisfied".

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded at Kays Carlton Hill on 3rd September 1962.

Keywords

Education and training; Arts and crafts; Mining; History and archaeology

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
The National Archives COAL 32   /13 Scripts for Mining Review, 1960-1963

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board