OUR COUNTRY’s vanished rural past has come to the screen thanks to the British Film Institute.

The BFI has announced Rural Life, an online library of more than 750 films from 1900 to 1999, many unseen since they were first shown.

The films form part of the BFI’s Britain on Film project, revealing hidden histories and forgotten stories of people and places from every corner of Great Britain.

Gathered from the UK’s key film and TV archives, including the Yorkshire Film Archive, the films can be seen for free on BFI Player via an interactive map.

The archive films will also be visiting over 125 locations around the country for special screenings and events.

Rural Life charts the changing countryside and rural life, highlighting activities, pursuits and traditions still surviving today, as well as customs, trades and skills that have since dwindled or disappeared.

Since Britain on Film’s launch, over six million people have visited the site to discover their country’s heritage.

With this new collection, there are now over 5,000 films to see online, the vast majority for free.

The films revealed unique Yorkshire customs , such as the Pancake Day Scramble (Swinton, 1960) and the 17th world coal carrying contest in Bringing In The Coal (Gawthorpe, 1980).

Visit player.bfi.org.uk/britain-on-film to watch the films.