Braunton Bulb Farm

Horticulturalists rear fine blooms

The filmmaker is George Thompson of Woolacombe and the Braunton Bulb Farm is situated at Sandy Lane and owned by Seymour Cobley Ltd. The man at the beginning of the film wearing a Braunton cap and cycle clips is the man in charge of the greenhouses John Ackland, dipping the bulbs is Bill Baglole, the man loading the boxes is Alan Lamphrey, tractor driver Fred Hussell, lorry driver Harold Allen and another tractor driver Jim'Jazzy' Patterson. All feature in this charming film.

The farm grew a variety of flowers from bulbs for the cut flower market. Daffodils, tulips, iris and gladioli made their way to markets all over the world, including Covent Garden in London. The firm employed up to 140 men, women and boys, who helped pack 30,000 flowers per week into boxes that were then loaded onto trains at Braunton station. The Bulb Farm ceased trading in 1969.