Cecil Sharp travelled mostly by bicycle on hiscollecting journeys criss-crossing the countyon his quest for its hidden folk songs. In theearly 1900s, portable recording equipmentwas just becoming available but was verycumbersome. It was also most uncomfortablefor the singers who were required to bury theirheads into what looked like a large bucket forthe sounds to be recorded. Cecil Sharppreferred to notate song tunes and record the

Cecil Sharp in Somerset Cecil Sharp was born in London on St Cecilia’sDay, 22 November 1859. Educated at UppinghamSchool and Clare College Cambridge, he went toseek his fortune in Australia.

He made music his profession while living inAdelaide, and met a young clergyman namedCharles Marson.

Cecil returned to England in 1892 and married hischildhood sweetheart Constance Birch in 1893,the same year Charles Marson became vicar ofHambridge, Somerset.

Cecil became interested in folk music throughteaching and the problem of finding songs whichyoung boys liked to sing.

Between 1904 and 1909 he published the fivevolumes of Folk Songs from Somerset and histheoretical book English Folk Song: SomeConclusions, which revolutionised knowledge offolk songs in England.

Cecil made 21 collecting trips to Somersetbetween 1903 and 1909.

After that he did most of his work in othercounties, collecting morris and country dances aswell as songs.

He made a further five collecting visits to Somersetbetween 1913 and 1916.

words in notebooks, a process which took alittle time, but which enabled him to get toknow his singers. One of the most remarkablelegacies of his collecting journeys is a uniquecollection of photographs of the singers,dancers and musicians he encountered. Theseare now held in the Vaughan WilliamsMemorial Library at Cecil Sharp House,headquarters of the English Folk Dance andSong Society.

He published his first collection, A Book of BritishSong for Home and School in 1902.

Cecil had not yet done any folk song collecting ofhis own, but in 1903 Charles wrote to tell himthat his gardener, John England, knew some folksongs. Cecil went down to Hambridge andcollected ‘The Seeds of Love’ on 22 August 1903.

Cecil had two music teaching jobs and so the onlyleisure time he had for collecting was the schoolholidays.

For more than five years Cecil spent nearly everyday of his spare time in Somerset travellinghundreds of miles by train and bicycle, meetingmore than 300 singers and collecting more than2,000 tunes.

During the First World War, he collected songs inthe Appalachian Mountains of the USA, helping todevelop the folk music movement there, and hiswork made him the leading international authority.

He continued to collect, organise and publish untilless than a month before his death from cancer on22 June 1924.

In 1911 Cecil founded the English Folk DanceSociety (EFDS).

In 1932 the Folk Song Society merged with theEFDS to form the present English Folk Dance andSong Society (EFDSS). Its headquarters in northLondon is Cecil Sharp House.

Somersethas asecret...

...an amazing story ofSomerset people whosang. Their songsinspiring great musicianswho wrote worksperformed worldwide.These maps locate thesingers and tell the storyof Cecil Sharp andCharles Marson whocollected songs over onehundred years ago. Youcan also find out where togo to hear folk songs, seefolk traditions, watch folkdances and perhaps joinin. There’s lots ofopportunity here in thismost musical of counties.So come all ye!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Concept & Compilation: Yvette Staelens Research: Yvette Staelens and C. J. Bearman

Published by Somerset County Council Cultural Service

© Yvette Staelens, C. J. Bearman & Somerset County Council

Design: Andrew Crane

Printed by Remous Ltd, Milborne PortPhotos: Somerset singers © EFDSS (except Lucy Whiteprivate collection); Ian Tapscott; David Sutcliffe; David Lawrence; John Howson, Yvette Staelens

Research generously supported by the Marc Fitch Fund

The information on this map has been compiled in good faith and

Somerset Council will accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions

howsoever caused.

Charles Marson Charles Marson wasborn into a clergyman’sfamily on 16 May1859and educated at CliftonCollege and UniversityCollege Oxford. In 1889he went to Australiaand met Cecil Sharp inAdelaide. Theyimmediately becamefriends. In 1892,Marson and his familyreturned to Englandwhere he struggled tofind work. After curacies in Soho and Somers Townhe was appointed vicar of Hambridge in 1895.Charles was a Christian Socialist and in Hambridgehe put his beliefs into practice, symbolically washingthe feet of poor village boys on Maundy Thursdayand persuading the villagers to make their ownNativity Play and act in it; he also tried to getlandlords to improve the cottages in which hispoorest parishioners lived. He helped to establish abranch of the Independent Labour Party in Langportin 1908 and was a popular preacher at localcelebrations, well known for his ability to makecongregations laugh. He and Cecil Sharp collectedfolk songs together initially, but in 1906 theyquarrelled and never saw one another again. On 3March 1914, Charles Marson died from a heartattack. Cecil Sharp attended the funeral.

1903: HAMBRIDGE

John EnglandJohn England was born in 1865 at Hambridge. Afterworking as a farm labourer in Dorset he returned to thevillage, married, and became Charles Marson’s

gardener and generaloutdoor servant. His song‘The Seeds of Love’ wasthe first that Cecil Sharpcollected, on 22 August1903. In 1912, he andhis family emigrated toSaskatchewan, Canada,where his descendantsstill live.

John England singer of ‘TheSeeds of Love’ at Hambridge

Harry RichardsHarry Richards (1840-1925) spent all his life inCurry Rivel, living in OldChurchay and later nearthe Bell Hotel. He was aquarryman by trade, but agardener by choice, asCecil Sharp’s photographshows. His large and widerepertoire enlarged Cecil’sknowledge of folk song andenriched the published FolkSongs from Somerset. He isburied at Curry Rivel.

Lucy White & Louie HooperLucy White and Louisa (‘Louie’) Hooper were half-sisters, born in 1848 and 1860 respectively. Theirmother, Mrs. England, had been one of the mostrenowned singers in the district until her death in1892. Both married, but Louie was widowed withinmonths. By 1901 they were living in adjacent houses

in Westport, and Charles Marson was trying hard to gettheir living conditions improved. They were among thefirst singers collected from by Cecil Sharp, and he wasimmensely fortunate to find them at the very outset ofhis collecting career, because they were naturalmusicians with a huge repertoire of songs. LouieHooper in particular loved instrumental music, andCecil gave her a concertina. Lucy died in 1923, butLouie lived on to become the Grand Old Lady ofSomerset folk song and be visited by the increasingnumbers who followed in Cecil’s footsteps. In 1942-43she was visited by Douglas Cleverdon of the BBC, andseveral of her songs were recorded for posterity. Shedied on Ash Wednesday 1946. The sisters have anentry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

1904: LANGPORT

Emma OverdEmma Overd was born in 1838 at Port Field, CurryRivel, but spent most of her life in Langport ‘Westover’.She was married to an agricultural labourer andsupplemented the familyincome through willowpeeling or ‘withy-stripping’.She was fond of a drink,unusually preferring beer tocider, and she was outsidea pub when Cecil Sharpfirst met her. She askedwhat he wanted, and onbeing told it was songs,danced him round andround ‘with the utmostvigour’, shouting to herfriends that her ‘beau’ hadcome at last. Cecil was fascinated by her large, wide,and unusual repertoire of songs. It is possible thatthese came from her paternal grandmother, RebeccaWeaver, born in the 1770s, who cared for the familyafter her mother’s death in 1846. Emma’s husbanddied in 1914, but she lived on in good health until1927, then went into a decline which ended in herdeath the following year. She is buried at Curry Rivel,and has an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of NationalBiography.

Frederick CrossmanFred Crossman was born at Huish Episcopi in 1846.His acquaintance with folk music began when he wasa boy, buying ballad sheets at Bridgwater Fair. As ayoung man, he worked as a gardener in Brewham andBruton before returning to Huish and setting up as amarket gardener with his brother Albert. It is probablynot a coincidence that they both lived near EmmaGlover, another noted singer, and also near the Roseand Crown pub. Fred and Albert advertised theirproduce in local newspapers and drove to sell it atBridgwater. Their business prospered, and neitherbrother conforms to the common picture of the poor,downtrodden folk singer, because Albert left more than

£1,000 in his willand Fred £880. Hewas a well-knownlocal character andbell-ringer until hisdeath in 1933.

1905: HARPTREE & BRIDGWATER

Jack Barnard‘Jack Barnard’s’ real name was John Barnett, and hewas born in Bridgwater around 1861. His fatherJames was also a singer, and they lived in the WestStreet/Halswell Lane area of the town, amid a numberof other singers. They worked at brickmaking and lateras scavengers and stone-breakers, work probably giventhem in return for poor relief. Cecil Sharp met themthrough the agency of Revd. W.K. Warren, who wascurate of St. Mary’s church and the Workhousechaplain. ‘Jack Barnard’ had no use of his legs, at atime when disabled children did not usually attendschool, so he was illiterate, but he had a store of morethan 150 songs and helped Cecil Sharp get contactwith other singers, most notably Elizabeth Porter andher daughter Lily, who lived next door.

George WyattGeorge (1822-1907) and Lydia (1828-1916) Wyattwere among several singers in West Harptree fromwhom Cecil Sharp collected in 1904-5, with the aid ofthe Kettlewell family. He was an agricultural labourerwho spent all his life in the village, and it isinteresting that they gave theirsons Biblical names –Absalom, Mark, andMatthew. After George’sdeath Lydia enteredClutton Workhouse(workhouses were the oldpeoples’ homes of the day) where she died.

1906: HAZELBURY PLUCKNETT

Susan WilliamsSusan Williams was born in 1832, and was amongseveral singers in Hazlebury Plucknett who made their

living from weaving. Shecame from North Perrott,but had been living inHazlebury since the1860s. Her husband diedbetween 1881 and 1891and she later lived with herson Robert. She died inMarch 1915.

1907: MINEHEAD AND EXMOOR

William SparksWilliam Sparks (1854-1916) was born and spent allhis life in Minehead, at 1 Middle Street, Higher Town.His father John was a blacksmith and William followedin the trade, thoughhe is also said tohave rentedproperties to holiday-makers. His song‘The Two Magicians’was the only itemCecil Sharp collectedfrom him, but it wasunique in Somersetand rare elsewhere.William became ill in1916 and died inTaunton Hospital.

Interestingly he does notconform to the poor folk singerstereotype, because he received a lengthyobituary in the local newspaper, and one of hissons was serving in the mounted Yeomanry ofthe district.

Robert ParishRobert Parish (1822-1909) was among severalsingers whom Cecil Sharp met in Exford. Hewas born in the village and spent all his life inthe village, working as a gardener and living inGlebe Cottage, next to the church. His son Robertwas a tailor, and that may be one of the reasons forhis smart appearance in Cecil’s photograph. Amongthe songs collected from him was ‘The Beggarman’,descended from ‘Back andSide Go Bare’ which was firstprinted in 1557. Robert Parishremained in good health to theend of his life, and had takenhis usual walk, inspected hisvegetable garden, and eatenhis dinner when he collapsedand died suddenly, while hisdaughter was making him acup of tea.

Betsy HollandBetsy Holland was born at Kentisbeare, Devon, in1880. Her family were travellers, but did not travelwidely, circulating around mid and north Devon andwestern Somerset, though her grandmother had beenmore adventurous and came from Wisbech,Cambridgeshire. It is not known when she married, butby 1907 she was travelling with her husband andseveral small children. Cecil Sharp met her nearSimonsbath in August thatyear, and was soimpressed that he calledher performance of theExecution Song ‘the finestand most characteristic bitof singing I had everheard.’ He caught up withthe family a few dayslater, on the road toBideford, and then inJanuary 1908 trackeddown the grandmother,Rebecca Holland, fromwhom Betsy said she learned the song.

1908: QUANTOCKS

John ShortJohn Short (1838-1933) was born at Watchet, butbecame a deep-sea sailor, spending his time onwindjammers because he did not consider thatsteamships produced ‘real sailors’. After he retiredfrom the sea he returned to Watchet, became the

Town Crier, and devotedly nursed his wife, who wascrippled by arthritis. In 1914, he was visited by CecilSharp, who in three days collected from him over sixtysea shanties, many of which were not previouslyknown. He was afterwards visited by another sea-shanty collector, Sir Richard Terry. He was a veryremarkable natural musician, with a deep, powerful,

yet flexible voice, andretained his singingability into his nineties. Itwas only in the last fewmonths of his life thatillness confined him tohis house. He shareswith Cecil Sharp thedistinction of having anobituary published inThe Times.

Elizabeth MoggElizabeth Mogg was born in Over Stowey in 1830. Shewas living in Nether Stoweyin 1881 and working as adressmaker, and althoughunmarried had a son born atHolford. By 1891 she hadmigrated to Dodington,where she lived in thehousehold of her brother-in-law Henry Chilcott, withJames Squires, anothersinger. Cecil Sharp collectedfrom her in Holford and shewas buried from HiltonCottages, in that village, inMarch 1921.

MAP

Louie Hooper on the canalbridge outside her home atWestport, Hambridge

Lucy White, Westport,Hambridge

Frederick Crossmanof Huish Episcopi

Emma Overd at her home inKnapp’s Lane, Westover,Langport

Jack Barnard Lily Porter, Jack Barnard’sneighbour in Bridgwater

Susan Williams, HazelburyPlucknett

Robert Parish, Exford

Harry Richards of Curry RivelBetsy Holland

John Short, Watchet

George Withers was born in 1924, the yearthat Cecil Sharp died, into a Somersetfarming family. He has sung all his life andremembers his father singing and whistling

as he went about his daily work on the farm. George has always enjoyed village lifeand especially the gatherings that necessitated doing ‘a turn’ on the village hall stage.He learned many songs from his parents and when he moved to a farm at IsleAbbots he met Harry Adams, a great singer and storyteller, who fuelled George’sinterest in traditional songs. George has travelled widely in the folk scene, appearing

at the National Folk Festival and at festivalsfrom Wadebridge to Whitby and in the westof Ireland. ‘I have met some lovely people, Idon’t know much about them, they could becriminals, but we are all brothers in song’. Tohear George sing, and perhaps recite some ofhis poetry inspired by rural life, visit themonthly song session at Eli’s in HuishEpiscopi.

Willliam Sparks at his forge inMinehead

George Withers. Photo: Veteran Records

Follow the Singers TrailI N AUGUST 1903, London music teacher Cecil Sharp visited his friend Reverend Charles Marson at Hambridge and heard John England, the vicarage gardener sing ‘The Seeds of Love’.

Thus began one of the most remarkable adventures in English music. In Somerset, over the next thirteen years or so, Sharp visited 122 locations, collected songs and tunes from 358named individuals, and gathered children’s games from twenty schools. Perhaps one of these singers or children was your ancestor? Maybe Cecil collected in your town or village?

Singers photographed listed in date order as visited by Cecil Sharp

A LIVINGTRADITION

Hambridge

1903Mary Bunston, HambridgeJohn England, HambridgeJob Gillard, HambridgeHarriet Goodland, HambridgeRevd. Hamlet, BarringtonLouisa Hooper, Hambridge‘Mayle’, BarringtonCharles Parsons, Long SuttonMiss Quick, DraytonTom Spracklan, HambridgeGeorge Templeman,

HambridgeLucy White, HambridgeJames Woodland, Stocklinch

1904Mrs. Bond, BarringtonJohn Coles, HambridgeJoseph Cornelius, Shepton

BeauchampSarah Gummer, HambridgeAlfred Harris,

Shepton BeauchampCaroline Hill,

Huish on the MoorElizabeth Lock, MuchelneyAnna Pond,

Shepton BeauchampMrs. William Ree, HambridgeAnn Welch,

Shepton BeauchampLizzie Welch, HambridgeAlfred Willy, Hambridge

1905Mrs. Dabbenett, BarringtonAnne Dyke, Kingsbury

EpiscopiAnn Lacey, DraytonGeorge Lawrence, Kingsbury

EpiscopiMrs. Joseph Ree, HambridgeMabel Sandford, Drayton

1906Walter Locock, Martock

1907T. Buckley, Castle CaryWilliam Cornelius,

South PethertonJohn Gartell, Castle CaryMrs. Millard, Castle Cary

1908Mr. Rawle, Barrington

Langport area

1903Henry Payne, Curry RivelThomas Symes, Isle Brewers

1904Giles Adams, Isle BrewersMrs. Bray, LangportFrederick Crossman,

Huish EpiscopiEmma Glover, Huish EpiscopiMr. Hartland, Curry RivelMrs. Hull, LangportEliza Hutchings, LangportJohn Jeffrey, Isle BrewersMrs. Kettle, LangportMrs. Maisie, LangportEmma Overd, LangportMrs. Palmer, LangportMrs. Perry, LangportHarry Richards, Curry RivelChristopher Shire, LangportWilliam Spearing,

Isle BrewersEllen Trott, LangportEmma Welch, Isle BrewersJane Wheller, Langport

1905Caroline Cox, High HamAlbert Crossman,

Huish EpiscopiMrs. Fido, LangportEliza Small, LangportEllen Snow, SomertonWilliam Snow, SomertonLucy Swaine, Somerton

1906Edward Harrison, LangportCharlotte Hector,

BurrowbridgeJames Lockyer, MiddlezoyMary Ann Lawrence,

SomertonBetsy Pike, SomertonOliver Shutler,

Compton DundonBetsy Smith,

Creech St. MichaelEliza Sweet, Somerton

1907Mr. Dommett, PitminsterMiss Gooding, SomertonMrs. Selway, WestonzoylandThomas Cave, Evercreech

1908Samuel Barman, DurstonAlfred Emery, OtheryGeorge Emery, OtheryCaroline Passmore, PitminsterMr. Passmore, PitminsterCharles Spiller, Pitminster

1909Mrs. Tucker, Huish Episcopi

Bridgwater and Harptree

1904Miss Doveton Brown,

ClevedonGeorge Currel, West HarptreeJohn Durbin, East HarptreeMr. Hole, ClevedonBenjamin Horler,

East HarptreeF.B. Kettlewell, East HarptreeWilliam King, East HarptreeElizabeth Price,

Compton MartinJohn Purnell, East HarptreeJohn Stevens,

Compton MartinJohn Voke, East HarptreeGeorge Wyatt, West HarptreeLydia Wyatt, West Harptree

1905James Bale, BridgwaterRichard Barnard,

PriddyJames Bishop, PriddyJohn Briffett, BridgwaterWilliam Briffett, BridgwaterThomas Brunt, BlagdonWilson Champ, East HarptreeRobert Dibble, BridgwaterThomas Griffiths, BridgwaterSamuel Horler, UbleyJessie Jeffreys, CheddarHarriet Moger, East HarptreeMrs. Pavey, CheddarTheophilus Pritchard,

Compton MartinGeorge Radford, BridgwaterMr. Rapsey, BridgwaterHenry Reed, AxbridgeCharles Turner, BridgwaterJohn Vincent, PriddyMr. Watts, WorleGeorge Weeks, PriddySamuel Weeks, Priddy

1906Richard Adams, East HarptreeMrs. Balsh, UbleyJack Barnard, BridgwaterJames Barnett, BridgwaterWilliam Bennett,

BridgwaterElizabeth Betty, BridgwaterJames Brooks, BridgwaterMrs. Brooks, BridgwaterJulia Burroughs, PuritonEllen Carter, CheddarMrs. Chapman, UbleyJane Chapman,

West HarptreeMrs. Chedzoy, PuritonJames Church,

Chewton MendipA.A. Clarke, WellsSarah Clarke, MeareMrs. Coombes, BridgwaterCharles Harvey,

Cannard’s GraveJames Creedy, BridgwaterJohn Culley,

Farrington GurneyMrs. Franks,

Nempnett ThrubwellJacob Giblett, MeareMr. Gordge, BridgwaterTom Hatry, BridgwaterJoseph Laver, BridgwaterWilliam Mantel, BridgwaterWilliam Mead, BridgwaterJonathan Pearce, DraycottMrs. Porter, BridgwaterLily Porter, BridgwaterMrs. Simmonds, UbleyJames Southward, BridgwaterJohn Stafford, Bishop’s SuttonBenjamin Watts,

Farrington GurneyCharles Webb, PuritonCharlotte Webb, PuritonGeorge Whitcombe, MeareSusan Wilson, ShiphamCharles Young, Puriton

1907Elizabeth Barnard, BridgwaterMary Brewer, HuntspillHenry Cave, NettlebridgeAlfred Chard, Chew StokeWilliam Chorley, BridgwaterSusan Clark, BridgwaterSamuel Crane, MeareAlbert Dowden, HuntspillEliza Dunstan, MarkAlfred Edgell, Chew MagnaWalter Edgell, Chew MagnaJohn Fackrell, BridgwaterRevd. Hargreaves,

East HarptreeJames Higgens,

Shepton MalletIvy Hill, Shepton MalletMaggie Hill, Shepton MalletMrs. Hill, BridgwaterErnest King, East HarptreeJohn King, Chew StokeBen Leader, BadgworthFlorence Lockett,

East HarptreeMrs. Marchant, BridgwaterSamuel Norris, WedmoreRichard Olding, BridgwaterFred Patch, WedmoreIsaac Perkins, NettlebridgeLavinia Rendall, Chew MagnaFriendship Roynan,

Chew Magna

Mrs. Sage, Chew MagnaFrank Sampson, PensfordTheodore Taylor,

Shepton MalletHenry Tidball, WedmoreWilliam Tucker, AshcottMrs. Walters, BridgwaterJohn Wedlock, Chew Magna

1908Mr. Bailey, BleadonGladys Brown, East HarptreeMrs. Duddridge, MarkSam Evry, BleadonThomas Green, WellsMrs. Jarrett, BridgwaterMrs. Jarvis, BridgwaterWilliam Patch, WinfordTom Pearce, WinfordMrs. Pople, Brent KnollCharles Porter, BleadonMay Saunders, East HarptreeGeorge Say, AxbridgeElizabeth Seeley,

BridgwaterElsie Simmons, East HarptreeAlbert Stock, Temple CloudWilliam Stokes, Chew StokeMrs. Tilley, CluttonWilliam Walter, Wells

1909John Arnold, FromeLucy Dunston, BridgwaterJames Grace, FromeCharles Norris, MeareFrancis Trusler, WellsGeorge Willcox, Shapwick

1913G.F.C. Peppin, Bridgwater

1914Henry Bailey, BridgwaterCharles Bonny, BridgwaterDorothy Bonney,

BridgwaterIrene Bonney, BridgwaterWilliam Hobbs, BridgwaterC.A. Johnson,

Hinton CharterhouseMr. Stileman,

Weston-Super-Mare

1916Edmund Easton, MeareFrederick Vowles, Meare

South Somerset

1904Mr. Bollen, IlchesterJohn Swain, Donyatt

1905William Brister, IlminsterWilliam Durkin, IlminsterThomas Hendy, IlminsterJohn Holt,

Hazelbury PlucknettHenry Larcombe,

Hazelbury PlucknettCaroline Laurence, MerriottAbraham Lawrence, IlminsterSelina Lawrence,

MerriottMrs. Meecham, MerriottThomas Mitchell, MerriottMr. Morris, Marston MagnaMrs. Parsons,

Marston MagnaJohn Patch,

Hazelbury PlucknettBetsy Prince,

Hazelbury PlucknettMrs. Sherring,

Marston MagnaMr. Warren, Hazelbury

PlucknettSusan Williams,

Hazelbury PlucknettHarriet Young, West Chinnock

1906Lucy Carter, Tintinhull

1908Anna Abbott, East CokerMrs. Francis, RimptonPriscilla Light, West CokerAlfred John Neville,

East CokerCharles Neville, East CokerJohn Matravers, Yeovil

Minehead and Exmoor

1904Captain Lewis, MineheadMaria Slade, MineheadMrs. Slade, MineheadWilliam Sparks, MineheadCaptain Vickery, Minehead

1905William Gard, Williton

1906Mary Ann Burnett, MineheadRobert Chapman, Old CleeveJohn Chapman, DunsterWilliam Crockford, BrattonHenry Cudland, Old CleeveWilliam Davis, Porlock WeirBessie Huxtable, MineheadJohn Knott, DulvertonJoe Milton, WithypoolMary Ann Milton, Washford

Robert Parish, ExfordAlbert Pool, ExfordW.S. Poole, ChipstableRobert Pope, MineheadJames Proll, MonksilverJohn Stark, WiveliscombeJohn Thorne, MineheadRichard Thorne, WithypoolWilliam Tucker, SkilgateMr. Voolacott, DulvertonRobert Willliams,

Timberscombe

1907Betsy Holland, SimonsbathRichard Mailby, Exford

1908Alice Davy, DunsterElizabeth Edbrook,

Withycombe

1909William Kingdon, Simonsbath

1914Ada Baker, WithypoolCaptain Hole, WatchetMr. Clatworthy, Blue AnchorJohn Short, WatchetSarah Tarr, DulvertonEdwin Thomas, Dulverton

The Quantocks

1904Jim Squires, Holford

1906William Bailey, CanningtonHugh Barrett, CanningtonLouisa Barrett, CanningtonCharlotte Binding, StogurseyJohn Bromham, CanningtonWilliam Burland, StogurseyElizabeth Coles,

Nether StoweyGrace Coles, EnmoreJack Crewys, HalseEdwin Davey, CanningtonMrs. Davey, CanningtonMrs. Graddon, StogurseyFrances Gray, EnmoreJim Gray, EnmoreJohn Haste, EnmoreWilliam Huxtable, TauntonElizabeth Loveless, StolfordElizabeth Mogg, HolfordJames Thomas, Cannington‘Junior’ Thomas,

CanningtonJohn Thorne, HalseJohn Trump, North PethertonMrs. Trump, North PethertonEliza Wilkins, Over Stowey

1907Martha Badley,

North PethertonEmma Callow, BagboroughEliza Hill, Over StoweyDavid Oaten, TauntonHenry Pain, CombwitchElizabeth Starkey,

Over StoweyCharlotte Villis, Over StoweyMrs. Ware, Over StoweyBenjamin Warren, TauntonEmma Wilkins, CombwitchEliza Woodberry, Ash PriorsCharles Wooley,

Nether StoweyWilliam Wooley,

Over Stowey

1908Amos Ash, Combe FloreyCharles Ash, CrowcombeMary Ann Ash, CanningtonJ.H. Baker, CrowcombeMr. Baker, North PethertonMr. Beemer, CrowcombeFlorence Chedgey, WickJames Chedgey, Over StoweyHenry Conybeare,

Combe FloreyEdward Feast, CanningtonJohn Fox, BagboroughJames Fudge, East CombeJane Gulliford, Combe FloreyLily Lane, FiddingtonJames Lovell, BroomfieldEsau Porter, EnmoreMrs. Stanley, SpaxtonThomas Stanley, SpaxtonMrs. Temlett, BagboroughCharles West, Broomfield

1909William Davy, Nether StoweyDaisy Wesley, SpaxtonHenry Hill, Nether Stowey

1913Mrs. Coles, Over Stowey

1914John Hill, BagboroughTom Hill, BagboroughMrs. Wyatt, West Monckton

Location not known

John Meetch or Weetch, 1914Walter Raymond, no date

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George Wyatt andhis wife Lydia attheir cottage in WestHarptree

Elizabeth Mogg, Doddingtonand Holford

A Victorian passionCecil Sharp was not the first or the onlySomerset folk song collector. Other collectorsbusy in Somerset include, Kate Lee (1859-1904), a concert and opera singer who was thefirst Secretary of the Folk Song Society. Shecollected sea songs in Minehead in the 1890s.Henry Hammond (1866-1910) and GeorgeGardiner (1852-1910) wereteachers andeducationalists.They begancollecting in 1905-6, Gardiner inBath Workhouseand Hammond inthe Taunton area,until they moved onto Hampshire andDorset respectively.Priscilla Wyatt-Edgell (1872-1934)lived at CowleyPlace, near Exeter,and besides work inDevon collected in Minehead and mid-Somerset, sending the results to Cecil Sharp.E.T.W. Wedmore was a Folk Song Societymember who collected in Minehead. CecilSharp also had a number of collaborators,chiefly clergy and their families like D.M. Ross,

vicar of Langport, GeraldPeppin at MarstonMagna, and the Sorbyfamily at Enmore, butperhaps the mostremarkable was AliceSnow in Somerton. Thedaughter and grand-daughter of folk singers,she had risen from apoor background tobecame a musically-

literate elementary school teacher who collectedfrom her grandmother Betsy Pike and others.

Mrs Lock, singer ofMuchelney Hamphotographed by CecilSharp probably in April1904

Gerald Peppin

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IS YOUR ANCESTOR HERE?

Can you spot your family name amongst Cecil Sharp'ssingers? How can you find out if you are related to them ornot? A good way to start is with the Somerset & DorsetFamily History Society. They have an excellent website full oftips, links and news, and they publish a regular magazine formembers. Visit www.sdfhs.org for more information. To findout about their songs and music, visit www.efdss.org

SOMERSET

FOLKFOLK

Sunday Folk ClubHalsway ManorFirst Sunday in the month (except August). A friendlygroup that meets in the Halsway lounge at 8pm. We welcome singers, players, writers, readers andlisteners. Informal and relaxed atmosphere. Bar open.

Contact: Deryck Deane

www.halswaymanor.org.uk