Workforce of Pollock's Caledonian Cabinet Works, Beith (1901)

A surprisingly calm 'factory gate' film, shot outside a factory in the Ayrshire town, famous for its wooden furniture making.

Seen beside some of Mitchell and Kenyon's more typical 'factory gate' films - energetic, crowded and urban - this spacious, small-town example, shot outside a much more compact workshop, is a real breath of fresh air. As workers amble down the semi-rural street, the cameraman, perhaps impatiently, stops and starts the camera. Lots of cheeky wee boys liven things up with their sociable scrapping.