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Your Tea Madam
A promotional film of the work of Ringtons Tea Ltd, showing the arrival of tea at the Quayside, Newcastle, tea blending and packing at Ringtons headquarters and factory in Algernon Road, Newcastle and its distribution by horse drawn and motorised vans to the housewife. A commentary and music accompanies the film.
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Title: Newcastle-on-Tyne
Title: Your Tea Madam
Title: Commentary Alan Howland
Title: Recording Imperial Sound Studios
The film opens with a shot of the New Tyne bridges with the Swing Bridge in the foreground.
A cargo ship is docked and two small cranes unload goods onto the quayside, men guiding the load down. Men carry objects to and from the ship down the gangplank.
There is a view of the exterior of the Ringtons Limited factory and headquarters at Algernon Road, Newcastle. Inside the factory tea is placed in a lift and heads up to the fourth floor for testing purposes.
Samples of tea are arranged on a table for two testers in white lab coats. Each tea sample is packaged in cloth, which is unwrapped and placed on the desk. Lines of cups are organised for testing the newly arrived tea. Boiling water is poured into each cup. The tea is weighed and added. The tea is then left to brew.
Two testers sample the freshly made tea using spoons. There is a general view of the testing area with a great number of cups lined up on the table. Men and women are in the background working on the testing process.
Tea is placed into a sifting machine, then into a blending machine. It is then poured into tea chests with foiled inner coating. A line of workers fill and seal chests for storage within the building. Women pack tea for sale. Stacks are prepared for dispatch. Tea is piled to the ceiling. Multiple people walk out of the Ringtons headquarters carrying tea, loading vehicles for deliveries.
A number of horse drawn carts are lined up along the exterior of Ringtons Limited in Algernon Road, each cart featuring the Ringtons logo. The carts begin to leave, one by one travelling in different directions. Gradually, only a few carts remain.
There is a shot from a prospective customer’s house towards the suburban street. A Ringtons’ horse drawn cart pulls up opposite. The Ringtons salesman in black suit and a bowler hat carries a packet of tea to the house. As he approaches the camera he speaks a few words.
Title: Drink Ringtons Tea End credit: The End
- Date: 1932
- Source: Northern Region Film & Television Archive
Video description
Ringtons Tea service commercial short film displaying the costumer values they strive towards and the steps they take to get your Tea to your door. From the auction house where the tea is tested and bought to the delivery routine of vans travelling out and even deliveries by horse and cart.
Footage details
- Genre: Promotional
- Length: 5 min 37 sec
- Sound: Sound
- Colour: Black & White
This video may not represent the original film in its entirety and is intended as a preview copy.
