Hedging

Is your hedge thin and straggly? Don't worry, help is at hand

A pipe-smoking Northamptonshire hedger is ably assisted by a smiling land girl eager to learn the rural craft of hedge making and maintenance in this gentle instructional film. Made by the Realist Film Unit for the Ministry of Agriculture, the film details how to make sturdy, long-lasting hedges that farmers can be proud of.

Director Margaret Thomson made many instructional films, including essential wartime viewing like Making a Compost Heap. Thomson had a varied filmmaking career at a time when female directors were rare, even making one feature film, Child's Play (1954). She didn't enjoy the experience, though, and returned to making sponsored short films, setting up a production company with her husband. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.