Dave Platts, Recreator of the English Deerhound WELCOME TO THE DAVE PLATTS WEBSITE Hello and welcome to the Official Dave Platts website. Here we pay tribute to Leicestershire character Dave Platts and the many special interest films made that feature the notorious poacher, deerhound breeder, sportsman and all-round legend. NOW IN PRODUCTION DAVE PLATTS "A BREED APART" Historic Films proudly presents Dave Platts "A Breed Apart" , the life story of the renowned recreator of the English Deerhound and notorious Leicestershire poacher. Join David as he takes on a journey through the decades of his life and his unconventional opinion on the modern world. OTHER FILMS STARRING DAVE PLATTS Dave Platts, the renowned Leicestershire poacher, has an interesting back catalogue of films about a variety of subjects including gypsy history, traditional British life, bare knuckle boxing, and ratting and poaching. You can stream a selection of these films on our website, and we are always adding more so be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date. DAVE PLATTS FILMS SUBSCRIBE Recreating the English Deerhound The English Deerhound was an extinct dog breed, lost to the annals of historic England. Dave Platts had a singular vision, to recreate the English Deerhound, bringing the breed back from the past and back into the present. ​ Here you can learn more about the recreation of the English Deerhound breed, how and why it has been brought back, and what is being done to make sure it stays around this time. The English Deerhound Gypsy Life In Britain Dave Platts' mother Frances was a member of the famous Toon family of Leicestershire dealers, and his father was John Augustus Levi Platts. His heritage and history ran deep in the world noble grafters and recognised dealers and merchants. Here we have a selection of classic films portraying historic gypsy life in Britain, "A Romany Summer", "Appleby Fair - The Golden Year" and "Ratting with Albert Fox". A Romany Summer The amazing classic gypsy film from the 1970s, Romany Summer. Join Cocker Smith and his gypsy family in this fly on the wall documentary film. Preview or Stream APPLEBY FAIR THE ULTIMATE FILM See the gypsies & Travellers enjoying the horses & mayhem at the world famous Appleby Horse Fair Preview or Stream THE CLASSIC RATTING FILM We join the late Albert Fox on a rat hunt of distinction. The Massacre at Grindley on the Hill. Truly awesome Ratting. Preview or Stream

A Romany Summer The Classic 1970s Gypsy Film & Bonus Feature "A Family Affair" What's it About? In the early 1970s a documentary called "A Romany Summer" was released. It featured a family of Romany Travellers in Yorkshire who roamed and lived in the lanes on the outskirts of York. The film features many aspects of a life that has now changed beyond recognition. The main character in the film is Cocker Smith . He and his family begrudgingly allowed the cameras to capture their life on the road as they travel from village to village scraping a living making and selling pegs and dealing in horses. The film was well received back in the 1970s, and today is an historic piece of work recalling rural England, and a bygone way of life. The second film “A Family Affair” is a short featuring the gypsies and horse dealers at Lee Gap Fair. Every year hundreds of gypsies and travellers descend on West Ardsley for the annual Lee Gap Fair. The horse trading fair is said to have been chartered by King Stephen in 1139, making it England's oldest horse fair. Running time 60 minutes A ROMANY SUMMER Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

Gordon Boswell: The Gentleman Gypsy A Guided Tour of The Gordon Boswell Romany Gypsy Museum What's it About? This is a re-release of a remarkable film about the late Gordon Boswell from Spalding, Lincolnshire, who was known as "The Gentleman Gypsy". Gordon Boswell‘s Romany Museum in Spalding contains one of the country's finest collections of Romany vardo's (gypsy caravans) carts and harnesses in the world. In this unique film Gordon give us a guided tour and talks about the old Romany Way of Life, and how he came to own one of the most beautiful collections of Romany history in the world. This film pays homage to a wonderful man who is sadly missed by all who knew him. Running Time 70 minutes GORDON BOSWELL ROMANY MUSEUM Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

Dave Platts Films We have a range of films starring and including Dave Platts, which you can stream below for just £5 each for 1 year. Our films show aspects of Historic England, incorporating subjects such as Gypsy life, Appleby Horse Fair, Ratting, Bareknuckle Fighting, Romany history and Historic Steam Fairs of England. Each of these fantastic films can be previewed and purchased, then streamed for 365 days through this site. The Gypsy and the Poacher The classic Dave Platts film 'THE GYPSY AND THE POACHER,' also featuring Joe Woolley. Packed with pre-hunting ban action. More Info Gordon Boswell: The Gentleman Gypsy The late, great, Gordon Boswell takes us round his museum in "The Gentleman Gypsy." A very interesting showcase of Romany gypsy history. More Info Appleby Fair - The Golden Years One of our best ever gypsy films 'APPLEBY FAIR -THE GOLDEN YEARS.' A beautiful film showing traditional aspects of the famous Appleby Horse Fair in England. More Info A Romany Summer The classic 1970s gypsy film 'A Romany Summer' showing real life with gypsies in England in the Seventies. Also features the short film "A Family Affair." More Info Bare Knuckle: Blood on their Hands Warning: Contains Extreme Violence. Bare Knuckle: Blood on their Hands is the must-see documentary on real life bare knuckle fighting in Britain. More Info The Art of Ratting The classic Dave Platts film 'THE ART OF RATTING.' Not much art, but lots of Ratting with Dave and the Coalville Ratpack. More Info Best of British Ratting The classic much loved film 'BEST of BRITISH RATTING' 4 classic rat hunts, action packed throughout. More Info Ratting: The Lost Film The classic Dave Platts film 'Ratting with the Coalville Ratpack' More Info Ratting Revisited Time to re-visit 2 great rat hunts 'RATTING RE-VISITED.' Features Albert Fox & Dave McBlain. More Info

Bare Knuckle: Blood on their hands Warning: Extreme Violence What's it About? Welcome to the underground sport of Bare Knuckle Boxing. The rules are simple. No kicking, no biting, no gouging, no holding on and certainly no headbutting. Two men, toe to toe fighting without gloves. Bare Knuckle. The winning fighter wins either by a knockout or a submission. ​ This unique documentary features two bareknuckle boxing fights: Fight one: Leicester Bulldog v Retford Harry This awesome fight is great opener. Refereed by Legendry Street Fighter Decca Simpkin, and held at a secret location in Leicestershire. The fight nearly didn’t take place, because a few weeks before, Leicester Bulldog was in intensive care after being shot in the stomach at point blank range by a Birmingham hoodlum, who months later went on to murder a man. He is now serving life imprisonment. Luckily Bulldog managed to recover and was eager to fight 12 weeks after major surgery. Fight two: Leicester Bulldog v Dave (The Beast) Radford Probably one of the most brutal bloody fights in bare knuckle history, featuring probably, one of the bloodiest Bare Knuckle Fights in the history of the sport. Set in a Leicestershire field where all hell broke loose, on a lovely sunny afternoon. Packed with interviews, training and a great commentary. This documentary should have you on the edge of your seat. ​ Running time 60 minutes (approx) BARE KNUCKLE "BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS" Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

The English Deerhound The English Deerhound was an extinct dog breed, lost to the annals of historic England. Dave Platts had a singular vision, to recreate the English Deerhound, bringing the breed back from the past and back into the present. ​ Here you can learn more about the recreation of the English Deerhound breed, how and why it has been brought back, and what is being done to make sure it stays around this time. Bringing the English Deerhound Back from Extinction A decades-long challenge of dog breeding, Dave Platts redeveloped the once-popular English Deerhound dog breed using a combination of the best examples from various dog breeds. Breeding English Deerhounds A worthy and quite admirable group of enthusiasts are now working to obtain recognition for The English Deerhound, based on the 10 generation breeding stock of sporting dog enthusiast Dave Platts, who started with Anastasia Noble's famous Ardkinglas Scottish Deerhounds and renowned racing Greyhounds in 1986, to develop his own line of rough-coated lurchers, selected on field performance, not any show-based cosmetic qualities. His foundation stock is rooted in Ardkinglas Sam, Xotic and Mick and track Greyhound winners Pannini, Casiope, Price Cut and Shooting News. For a quarter of a century his dogs have been prized by discerning sportsmen and rated as outstanding hunting dogs. Now, working with Dave Sleight, well known for his lurcher demonstrations at country fairs, and with the seeking of breed status being coordinated by Jackie Sykes, Dave Platts' outstanding dogs, producing uniform litters and much-admired hunting dogs, could be heading for well-justified formal recognition. A Breed Apart The superb hunting dogs bred by Dave Platts to produce a uniform and hugely-successful sight-hound, combining high prey-drive backed by equable temperament, remarkable physical soundness and a consistently re-created litter-profile, deserve wider recognition, with much to offer other breeds of this type, as well as sportsmen in overseas grounds. Dave Sleight is aiming to seek out and then offer steeplechase events at racing greyhound venues, so that such dogs can be thoroughly tested for function and not depend just on sheer handsomeness for appeal, the fate of so many sight-hound breeds in the 21st century. All true sportsmen should now support this admirable quest, with ideally the backing of a sponsor of stature eventually rewarded by the fame of backing a restored English canine asset. It would be so heartening to have support across the board for such an admirable venture, from the KC at the top, down through other established Breed Clubs, and, especially, the sporting press. NOW IN PRODUCTION DAVE PLATTS "A BREED APART". Historic Films proudly presents Dave Platts "A Breed Apart" , the life story of the renowned recreator of the English Deerhound and notorious Leicestershire poacher. Join David as he takes on a journey through the decades of his life and his unconventional opinion on the modern world. Subscribe to our Mailing List below to find out first when "A Breed Apart" is released.

About Dave Platts Dave Platts comes from a famous family of dealing people, and when he was a child he was taught family traditions including how to live off the land, running dogs, training animals, looking after cattle and horses, poaching... giving Dave a rich traditional upbringing and enabling him to live off the land in his native Leicestershire. ​ Born in Hugglescote, Coalville, in North West Leicestershire, to Frances Toon and John Augustus Levi Platts, both sides of Dave Platts' family have a long history of dealing - in horses, scrap metal, dogs - as well as breeding racing pigeons and looking after livestock. Surrounded by lurchers, horses and game fowl, Dave soon learned to look after animals with encouragement from his family and the wider community of gypsy people. ​ A proud lurcher breeder, Dave Platts is renowned for bringing back the English Deerhound from extinction, as can be seen in the upcoming film "Dave Platts: A Breed Apart". ​ HISTORIC FILMS is the owner of this website has been a good friend of Dave Platts for the best part of 3 decades. Dave Platts has never missed an opportunity to get the camera gear out and film something interesting. Between them they have have travelled thousands of miles enjoying traditional English events and escapades. Our films show old England, gypsy traditions, hunting, fairgrounds, poaching and ratting . We hope you enjoy the site! The Recreation of the English Deerhound The English Deerhound was an extinct dog breed, lost to the annals of historic England. Dave Platts had a singular vision, to recreate the English Deerhound, bringing the breed back from the past and back into the present. ​ Here you can learn more about the recreation of the English Deerhound breed, how and why it has been brought back, and what is being done to make sure it stays around this time. The English Deerhound Poaching & Ratting Two of Dave's great loves are poaching and ratting. Ratting is a traditional British sport, with dogs (usually terriers) bred specifically to catch the most rats quickly and efficiently, keeping the rodent population down where it is needed most (for example, where chickens are kept). ​ We have a selection of British Ratting videos available to stream on our Films page . Ratting Videos

Ratting: Revisited Featuring Dave Platts & the late Albert Fox What's it About? Enter the secret world of ratting with dogs. The rat-hunters don’t like strangers around and usually conduct their hunts in private. This 2 hour film takes us on a couple of interesting rat hunts. First up is the “The Chicken Farm”, and is the re-release of the classic Albert Fox film. Albert is no longer with us, but his character lives on in this unique film. Its non-stop ratting action, as the eager terriers seek their quarry. Second up, is a trip to “The Pig Farm” on this Dave Platts organised event. We take with us Dave McBlain (the actor) who was fresh off the set of the hit movie Gangs of New York. Much to our surprise he decided to present this film. Ratting is the most exhilarating of sports as the terriers get down to the business of clearing the vermin. RATTING RE-VISITED Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

Ratting with Albert Fox Featuring the late Albert Fox & His Rat Pack What's it About? Hold onto your hats as we meet up with Albert and the older gentlemen of Ratting fame. In two and a half hours Albert’s rat pack dispatched 187 rats as they went to work on a game farm at Grindley on the Hill. On the day the rat pack had the use of a large fork lift truck. This was used to lift partridge sheds, to see what lay underneath. There were some sheds with up to 25 rats under them. This film is bedlam from start to finish, as rat after rat bit the dust as the terriers did their job around the farm. On our second visit we used the fumes from a chainsaw to smoke out and round up any rodents we missed on the first sweep. Packed with great interviews and comments from a team who have been doing this job for decades. Albert Fox has sadly passed away, but his memory lives on in our unique films. R.I.P. Albert Fox. ​ Duration: 60 Minutes (Approx) Narration by Paul Donoghue Albert Fox Ratting A Massacre at Grindley on the Hill Watch Preview £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

Appleby Fair The Golden Years Behind the scenes at Appleby Horse Fair, Cumbria What's it About? The Romany gypsies began their wanderings in India in the early 1500’s, and they are still wandering today. In this film you will gain an insight of gypsy culture, their way of life and the highlight of their year as they gather at the famous Appleby Horse Fair. The sleepy little Cumbrian town of Appleby-in-Westmorland undergoes a transformation in June each year. For several weeks beforehand gypsies, travellers and horse dealers can be seen on the roads in their magnificent horse-drawn living wagons as they head for the famous Fair Hill. In this film you will witness the town coming alive with the hustle and bustle of gypsies, horses, dealers and tourists all gathered for the selling and racing of horses that is the mainstay of the fair. You will see the sights and sounds of the fair that has reputation world-wide, attracting visitors and travellers from all over the globe. Watch the horses being prepared and washed in the river Eden, and see an award winning farrier at work. Meet some of the colourful characters who are regulars to the fair. Included is a special tribute to Appleby Fair's Showman Johnny Eagle. APPLEBY HORSE FAIR - THE GOLDEN YEARS Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

Best of British Ratting Not for the squeamish! What's it About? Not one, two, or three... But four great rat hunts mixed together in one film. The Gentry Rat Hunt in Lincolnshire. No smokers or chainsaws, just reliable dogs hunting the old fashioned way. Great ratting action on a lovely crisp sunny morning. The Bridgnorth Rat Hunt.... Dave Platts & David McBlain and a pack of rampant Plumber Terriers glide us through a mornings ratting in downtown Bridgnorth. The Piggery with Ann and Steve Hill.... In monsoon conditions the legendary Patterdale cross Jack Russell terrier Jude shows us the power of her nose. Rat after rat bites the dust and are dispatched without mercy. Measham Mayhem “The main event”. Dave Platts brings a team of seasoned ratters together for a morning of fun frolics and mass murder. 284 rats in two and a half hours as an unsuspecting Pig Farm gets the full treatment. Commentary By Paul Donoghue. Running time 120 minutes (approx) Best of British Ratting Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS

The Art of Ratting With Dave Platts & Joe Woolley and the Coalville Rat-Pack What's it About? This film is called 'The Art of Ratting', but in truth there is not really a lot of art involved in ratting with dogs. The first thing you need is a willing farmer, then a team of enthusiastic Ratting men. You will need a few spades, a cut down chainsaw (for the exhaust fumes), a pack of rampant Plummer Terriers, and any other breeds available. Then you let them loose on the farm, wood or spinney and watch the mayhem from a safe distance. Its action all the way. ​ Don’t forget Rats cause disease and destruction wherever they are found, and the service the Ratting Men provide is essential in rural England. It’s also a lot of fun to watch, even if its not your cup of tea. No-one likes a rat. THE ART OF RATTING Watch Trailer £ Buy £5 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied < BACK TO ALL FILMS