Nidd Films

07/09/2025

https://www.niddfilms.com/post/ophelia-in-nidderdale-flowers-folklore-and-the-forgotten-voice-of-mary-jane-skaife

John Everett Millais, Ophelia (1851–2). Tate Britain, London. Public Domain.

06/09/2025

“Nidderdale isn’t Brontë bleak. It’s a valley with an inherited elegance, long described as pretty, shaped by the legacy of John of Gaunt’s castle and the old Knaresborough Forest.”

Moorland Yorkshire Mary-Jane

05/09/2025

The Barghest of Yorkshire

Yorkshire folklore tells of the Barghest, a monstrous black dog with eyes like fire, said to stalk the moors, towns, and villages of the county. Its growl was feared as an omen of death, a sound carried on the wind that chilled the heart of anyone who heard it.

Legends say the Barghest would appear at night on lonely lanes, graveyards, or moorland paths, its shape looming larger than any earthly hound. Sometimes it padded silently alongside a traveller, other times its growl came first, echoing across the valley like a warning from the other side. For generations, the people of Yorkshire believed that to see the Barghest was to know death was near.

In Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor, the Barghest is more than a single omen. Its presence lingers throughout our story, a shadow in the valley, a growl on the wind, a reminder that some voices, once silenced, are never truly gone.

A growl on the wind… the Barghest is near.

03/09/2025

https://youtu.be/EITL2ZfT1Ec?si=xyeRML5eWNHIkp1Z

01/09/2025

✨ The Vanishing Fairies Poster Competition ✨
In 1846, William Darnbrough told how Hartwith Moor was once alive with fairies. By the end of his life, they had all but vanished.
Now it’s your turn to bring them back.

✨Create your poster
✨Win prizes + a set visit in 2027
✨Deadline: Jan 12, 2026

FULL DETAILS FOLLOW THE LINK

https://www.niddfilms.com/education-and-impact

31/08/2025

Our new blog post explores one of the hidden stories from Nidderdale’s dark past: the orphan children of the mills. Their voices resonate through the world of Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor, reminding us that history cannot be forgotten.



https://www.niddfilms.com/post/lost-voices-in-nidderdale

26/08/2025

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE STORY Have a look at our recent still shoot and find out more about our new film project — Sweetheart Angel of the Moor.

https://www.niddfilms.com/post/the-people-behind-the-story

25/08/2025

https://www.niddfilms.com/post/why-nidd-films

Nidd Films logo and name choice

21/08/2025

New Production Stills Released: https://www.niddfilms.com/press

We’re excited to share the first stills

Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor - captured on location in Nidderdale by photographer Angus Chau

These images will form part of our marketing and funding campaign as we bring Mary-Jane Skaife’s story to the screen.

Rooted in Yorkshire’s heritage, Sweetheart blends gothic folklore, feminist impact storytelling, and period authenticity.

Huge thanks to Angus for his stunning work behind the lens.

Stills photography © Nidd Films 2025.
Photographer: Angus Chau. All rights reserved.

Follow our journey as we prepare for production and festival release.

13/08/2025

From the archives: James Atkinson’s Prison Letters
In April 1859, the Journal of Mental Science published the prison letters of James Atkinson—the man acquitted of Mary-Jane Skaife’s murder on grounds of insanity and sent to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum.

These letters, written while he awaited trial in York, have rarely been seen since. They promise a raw and unsettling glimpse into his mind—part of a case that shocked Victorian Yorkshire and still raises questions about justice, truth, and mental health in the 19th century.

We’re currently working to access these original letters for our historical drama Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor, to better understand the man behind the verdict.

Read more about the journal record here:

https://www.niddfilms.com/post/from-the-archives-james-atkinson-s-prison-letters

06/08/2025

https://www.niddfilms.com/post/reclaiming-mary-jane-skaife-the-forgotten-voice-behind-sweetheart-angel-of-the-moor

By Mark Anthony – Nidd FilmsMary-Jane Skaife, the young woman at the centre of our upcoming historical short Sweetheart: Angel of the Moor, was born on 11 September 1836 in Thruscross, Yorkshire, to Thomas and Mary Skaife (née Downs). She died tragically on 1 August 1858 in Menwith with Darley, H...