Kentish Express Ashford & District
Are you this mystery market girl?
Father’s movies of farmers now available online
The son of a filmmaker who recorded scenes in Ashford’s market during the 1950s is seeking to track down missing footage and some of the people who are featured in it.
Bill Parsons has uploaded scenes to YouTube, filmed by his father Morph Parsons, which show the old cattle, sheep and bull markets in Elwick Road.
Characters featured include W&B Hobbs auctioneers at a sheep sale, farmers clad in flat caps and white coats and punters gathering to inspect livestock.
The films also show the Parsons and Son Tenterden-based cattle conveyancing business, with lorries and workmen at the former Pittlesden Farm.
Now Mr Parsons, who collects old film footage and looks after his father’s work, said: “I’ve uploaded the films to YouTube, and I’m rather mystified because at the end my father has filmed a family with a little girl, and I have no idea who they are.
“Looking back at all the old films shows just how things have changed. Back then it was still seen as very important to have the market in the town, but everyone’s life has changed.”
The new Ashford market at the Orbital Park was built in the 1990s before construction of the high speed rail link and the Channel Tunnel began. Now the site in Elwick Road has been earmarked for a new cinema complex with restaurants and a new 60-bedroom hotel, with building work expected to start in the new year.
Mr Parsons is hoping to track down the little girl shown taking tentative steps while holding the hands of possibly her mother and father, and believes someone will recognise them.
He is also hoping to track down footage which his father had lent to someone in Ashford which further depicts scenes from the old Ashford market.
‘Looking back at all the old films shows just how things have changed’