Grainy, shot by hand and with few of the airs and graces of modern cinematography, the films of SE16 from the last part of the twentieth century do however give a real feel for that very different world. If you are newly arrived in Canada Water or a longterm resident of Bermondsey, remembering what the life and look of the Surrey Docks was like is important to understanding where we are today. These two films give an impression of Rotherhithe and Bermondsey in that past era and offer us questions about what has stayed the same and what has changed.
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe A Place in History (Part 1)
Michael Reardon’s parents shot this on a cine camera in 1982. Wonderfully evocative of Rotherhithe’s dockland history it is a prize piece of documentary film-making about SE16.
Bermondsey
A portrait of Bermondsey in 1972. skittle01 has created a series of nostalgic films hearing from the Cockney characters who populated the docks and gave their character to SE16.
