Brighton archives celebrate Festival of Britain 70th anniversary

Designed to nurture the nation’s recovery after the Second World War, the Festival’s South Bank exhibition in London was the main attraction, providing an eye-catching celebration of innovation in art and industry that ran during the summer of 1951. But other exhibitions and events were also staged across the country.

Two archives at the university - Screen Archive South East (SASE) and the University of Brighton Design Archives - offer unique materials documenting this significant moment in UK post-war history.

The University of Brighton Design Archives has long been a beacon in the UK design landscape. Since 1996 it has held the archive of the Design Council, whose 1950s predecessor was a key driver for the festival. 

Image from Festival of Britain anniversary feature by Harriet Atkinson

Alongside this is a distinctive set of archives of designers associated with the festival, including James Gardner, Barbara Jones, Willy de Majo, Dorrit Dekk, FHK Henrion, Natasha Kroll and Hans Arnold Rothholz - the last four being notable émigrés who fled persecution in Nazi-occupied Europe in the late 1930s.

The SASE Collection was established by the University of Brighton in 1992 in association with the British Film Institute. Its Festival of Britain collection includes over 20 films made by professional and amateur film-makers, depicting both the London exhibition and activities throughout Kent and Sussex.

Gilbert Tome’s colour film is dedicated to the South Bank and features the pavilions, amenities and fountains, a sculpture by Henry Moore and the Skylon – the festival’s futuristic symbol of a new age of steel and speed. John Bell’s film, meanwhile, features Princess Elizabeth, and Rowland Emett’s Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway at the Battersea Pleasure Gardens.

Both archives welcome visitors in this anniversary year.

University of Brighton Design Archives Twitter: @Design_Archives
Screen Archive South East Twitter and Facebook