'This is Millom': New film to premiere about history of town

'This is Millom' is the brainchild of Jonathan Brind, a volunteer at the Millom and District Local History Society.

It will make its premiere at Millom Library on Salthouse Road on Saturday, August 31 at 11am.

'This is Millom' combines present day interviews with records of the past (Image: Jonathan Brind)

For Jonathan, this is a project that has been in the work for a number of years, meaning finally seeing it debut on the big screen is a long-awaited accomplishment.

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He said: "I moved to Millom two years ago and, as a filmmaker, I thought the best way to find out about the place was to make a film about it.

"I discovered that the Millom I was living in was a place built for the Hodbarrow miners and the Millom ironworkers, two industries that used to dominate this side of the Duddon peninsula."

The film chronicles Millom's industrial heritage, and the impact it has left behind (Image: Jonathan Brind; David Bradbury)

Jonathan's work has been massively helped by local archives, particularly the one in Barrow, which contain countless documents and photos about Millom's history that he has now brought to life.

Added to this, the Millom Recording Society captured the memories of dozens of locals 25 years ago, which make up a key component of 'This is Millom'.

"Put the two together and it was possible to create a real picture of what made the town tick in the past," Jonathan added. 

"A picture that was not reliant on the business records and engineering drawings found in most of the standard works on Cumberland iron.

"Sandwiched around the story of iron are lots of 'quickies' about the people who live in the area in the present day."

Jonathan Brind has been interviewing locals for over a year to bring the film to life (Image: Jonathan Brind)

Jonathan, originally from the south of England, describes Millom as more akin to Welsh industrial towns rather than the villages of Lakeland.

"It' s a close knit, tight community - perhaps it has to be because it feels like an isolated area tucked at the end of the Duddon estuary," he said.

"Millom has never quite recovered from the loss of its dominant industries and , although it has become a holiday destination, it remains a town looking for a future - in that, it is probably much like the rest of Britain."