At the end of the school year 2006-7, it was decided to involve a few interested students in the opportunity to produce a short film. A few ideas were discussed, until it was suggested that a story about the origins of Ellesmere Port might make for an interesting project. Even though it would be set 200 years ago, there seemed to be plenty of resources around - from the collection of source material in the History Department to the Boat Museum itself - an integral part of the story.

Time was found in the last two weeks of the summer term (July 2007) to make a start. Mr Alexander helped with technical advice regarding the film making, while Mr Royden gave guidance on the actual history. Site visits were organised and time was spent photographing and filming at the Boat Museum and in the adjoining streets. Fieldwork was carried out using old maps and photographs to pinpoint the oldest remaining streets and buildings around the dock complex. Photographs of Ellesmere in Shropshire were also taken in similar positions to old photographs in our collection.

At the time of writing production continues. There is no set time to finish - we just want to complete something of quality that can be used in the classroom and may even be made available for download on this site.

Watch this space!