1948
British Pathé
Swannery (1948)
Newsreel footage of the swanherd and the flock on the Fleet, three years after the war.
Abbotsbury on film
The village as it was: newsreels, the BBC, a Hollywood film crew on the coast road, and Garland Day. Nothing here is newer than twenty years old. Tap a picture to play.
1949
British Pathé
Swannery at Abbotsbury (1949)
The round-up and feeding as it was done just after the war.
1955
British Pathé
The Swannery (1955)
The swans, the reed beds and the men who kept them, filmed in 1955.
1968
MGM, Movieclips
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on the coast road (1968)
The strongest film link the village has. A driving sequence heads towards Abbotsbury along Bishop's Road, with Chesil Beach and St Catherine's Chapel in shot behind the car. It is only a few seconds of the song sequence, so watch for the beach and the chapel.
1979
BBC Archive, A Diary of Britain
A New Lease of Life for Abbotsbury? (1979)
The BBC in the village in 1979, on the estate, the leases and the swannery, with villagers (in the BBC's words, 'gentle Dorset tongues') worrying about the young having to move away. Nearly fifty years on and the worries have not changed much.
1991
Wessex Film and Sound Archive
Taste of the Country: Dick Dally of Abbotsbury (1991)
Television feature on Dick Dalley, the swanherd, held in the Wessex Film and Sound Archive. Not online; the catalogue record tells you how to view it.
2005
YouTube
Abbotsbury Garland Day 2005
The garlands carried through the village and laid at the memorial, twenty-one years ago.
Abbotsbury on screen
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). The strongest film link the village has. A driving sequence heads towards Abbotsbury along Bishop's Road, with Chesil Beach and St Catherine's Chapel visible behind the car. The clip is above.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). The Swannery's reed beds were used for establishing shots of the marsh around the Burrow. The film crew were in and out of the reeds by the Fleet; the swans carried on regardless.
If you know of another film or television programme shot in the village, tell us and it goes on this list.
The films play from the copyright holders' own channels; nothing is copied. If you have a cine reel, a video tape or a photo album from the village, we would like to get it digitised and on here with your name on it. [email protected].