POWC Days after Final Clearance 1976
digital file Black & White Sound 1976 7:57
Summary: A black and white video of the Prince of Wales Crescent in 1976, documenting six days after the eviction day.
Title number: 22981
LSA ID: LSA/30230
Description: The film opens with a panning shot of Prince of Wales Crescent. A voiceover from Sue Hall explains that six days have passed since the eviction of the area's occupants. In the corner of the frame, children can be seen playing.
The camera zooms in on a road sign marked with graffiti that reads “No eviction, houses for all.” Additional graffiti throughout the area echoes similar messages, including “Re-housing now” and “Don’t worry, be happy.” A van with the words “Society: The Edge” painted on its side is parked nearby.
The camera pans across the road and rows of houses. Many buildings have broken windows or none at all. The sounds of passing cars, distant construction, and playing children are heard.
The shot moves closer to the demolished buildings, then cuts to the interior of an abandoned property. The kitchen is stripped bare, appliances gone, debris scattered. The footage cuts to a faded “Community Supplies” sign, the camera tilting down to show the shop below—its windows gone, the inside emptied. The film concludes with shots of several vacant houses, now doorless and lifeless.
Locations: North London
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