Bygones
Encyclopedia
Bygones is an Anglia Television
documentary series exploring East Anglia
n history and traditional rural crafts
first aired in 1967. The series, and in particular the regular Bygones Specials featured many interviews with people who used to do traditional work now lost to history (such as using a horse-drawn plough or threshing) and investigation and preservation of surviving East Anglian culture.
Bygones was presented by Dick Joice from 1967 until his retirement in 1987 when the film historian John Huntley
took over. It was made by the Norwich-based television company Anglia for the ITV
network. The series was discontinued in 1989, but briefly brought back by Anglia TV in 2007 following an overwhelming vote from viewers on a programme they wanted reinstated.
It features mystery objects where the audience are asked to write in and guess what the implement's original function was. Dick Joice's collection of objects which featured in Bygones has been on display
at Holkham Hall
, Norfolk since 1979, in what was once the stables.
Some of the most memorable editions of Bygones were documentaries directed by Geoffrey Weaver in the Seventies. "The Harvest" authentically re-created a harvest field around the turn of the 20th century, while "Gone For a Burton" followed the seasonal trip of East Anglian agricultural workers to work in the Burton upon Trent
maltings after the hay and grain harvests.
Bygones has a distinctive theme tune
played on a barrel organ
, and for its 2007 revival was presented by Eddie Anderson, the former assistant of the original presenter Dick Joice
, and Wendy Hurrell
. Antique dealer Alan Smith often presents a section as well.
Anglia Television
Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...
documentary series exploring East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
n history and traditional rural crafts
Rural crafts
Rural crafts refers to the traditional crafts production that is carried on, simply for everyday practical use, in the agricultural countryside. Once widespread and commonplace, the survival of some rural crafts is now in doubt....
first aired in 1967. The series, and in particular the regular Bygones Specials featured many interviews with people who used to do traditional work now lost to history (such as using a horse-drawn plough or threshing) and investigation and preservation of surviving East Anglian culture.
Bygones was presented by Dick Joice from 1967 until his retirement in 1987 when the film historian John Huntley
John Huntley (film historian)
John Frederick Huntley was a British film historian, educator and archivist.Huntley was born in Kew and entered the film industry as a teaboy at Denham Studios around 1938...
took over. It was made by the Norwich-based television company Anglia for the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network. The series was discontinued in 1989, but briefly brought back by Anglia TV in 2007 following an overwhelming vote from viewers on a programme they wanted reinstated.
It features mystery objects where the audience are asked to write in and guess what the implement's original function was. Dick Joice's collection of objects which featured in Bygones has been on display
Art collections of Holkham Hall
The art collection of Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England remains very largely that which the original owner intended the house to display; the house was designed around the art collection acquired by Thomas Coke 1st Earl of Leicester during his Grand Tour of Italy during 1712–18...
at Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...
, Norfolk since 1979, in what was once the stables.
Some of the most memorable editions of Bygones were documentaries directed by Geoffrey Weaver in the Seventies. "The Harvest" authentically re-created a harvest field around the turn of the 20th century, while "Gone For a Burton" followed the seasonal trip of East Anglian agricultural workers to work in the Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
maltings after the hay and grain harvests.
Bygones has a distinctive theme tune
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
played on a barrel organ
Barrel organ
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
, and for its 2007 revival was presented by Eddie Anderson, the former assistant of the original presenter Dick Joice
Dick Joice
Dick Joice was a British regional television presenter renowned in the East of England for his Anglia Television programmes - particularly the Bygones show that ran from 1967 for twenty years...
, and Wendy Hurrell
Wendy Hurrell
Wendy Louise Hurrell is an English television presenter currently working as a weather presenter for BBC London.-Early life:Hurrell was born in Norfolk and grew up in Filby near Great Yarmouth...
. Antique dealer Alan Smith often presents a section as well.