A Trip through "Libertyland"

Life and work at Symington, the corset makers, at its factory in Market Harborough

This illuminating public relations film offers a tour of Symington's corset factory in Market Harborough. The film proudly takes us onto the factory floor and around the various departments, but its object is not to show off Symington's efficient processes, or its state-of-the-art technology, but to highlight "the happy conditions under which the work is carried out".

Symington was once Market Harborough's largest employer, and thanks much to the energetic Perry Gold Symington, had a reputation for looking after its workers. There's certainly plenty of smiles on display here, and we get a taste of the extracurricular activities laid on, including football and trips to the nearby Oriental (later Orient) cinema. A shot of workers flooding out at lunchtime echoes images of another generation of Symington employees taken more than a quarter of a century earlier by Mitchell & Kenyon - see Workers Leaving Symington's, Market Harborough (1901), also on BFI Player.