ARCHIVE footage has emerged of old news clips going back to the middle of last century.

As part of its centenary celebrations the BBC has launched ‘BBC Rewind’ across the UK, providing public access to a vast portion of the Corporation’s extensive archive. 

The new website contains tens of thousands of audio-visual recordings, largely from news output and documentaries. They reflect the life and events of the UK spanning decades, telling the story of the nation through its people.

Though mostly covering more populous areas of the country, a few clips of the South Lakes have emerged - including footage of a giant tanker, Countess Mountbatten, launching from the shipyard in 1951.

Also included in the archives is footage of lecturer Bill Rollinson discussing his hometown of Barrow in 1975 and its shift to a 'one-industry town' - "it could be a disaster if anything happened to Vickers'."

As well as a more recent 2011 clip from The One Show documenting the shipyard.

Clips from Ulverston are also included in the archive. Alongside recent coverage of the Roxy Cinema and a 2008 report from the Dickensian Festival, fascinating reports have surfaced of an interview with Lionel Denham of Ulverston Town Council about the new post of Lighthouse Keeper.

The oldest report from the town is of the opening of a new industry - Cumbria Glass in 1975.

"The teamwork involved in making a simple water jug is better than anything you are likely to see at Wembley," the reporter says.

Other clips include a visit to Ulverston's Hartley's Brewery in 1980 and again in 1981, as well as a showcase of the Laurel and Hardy Museum in 1998.

In total, over 30,000 pieces of uncovered content will be on the site with the oldest material dating back to the late 1940s.

James Stirling, Executive Editor BBC 100, says: “As we celebrate 100 years of the BBC, we’re opening up our unique and deeply valuable archive, an important part of the nation’s collective memory.

“By breathing new life into stories which have laid dormant for years, audiences will be able to discover recordings which can help us all learn more about who we are and where we’re from.” 

The new BBC Rewind website is available at www.bbc.co.uk/rewind