Sound Recordings, Bedfordshire

Description

Harry Scott [continued from tape LAVC/SRE/A746r], recorded in Billington; sings 'I Wish I was Single Again'; talks about Fred Henley. [Tr. 1]


Fred Henley and his wife, Mrs. Fred Henley, recorded in Eaton Bray; talk about duck breeding, and the decline after World War One; picking [?plucking] ducks. [Tr. 2]


Harry Scott sings [2 unidentified]; recites [ 'Miller of the Dee']; sings chorus to [unidentified]; sings [3 unidentified, 2 of which are fragments]. [Tr. 3]


Fred Henley talks about working for Harry Scott (fruit picking); money for employees' Christmas box; the weather and its affect on the fruit crop; Mrs. Fred Henley talks about yeast dumplings and pancakes; her mother's bread making; how to cook dumplings/pancakes; Mr. Henley compares bread of the past with modern bread. [Tr. 4]


Harry Scott sings 'The Ship that Never Returned' ; sings [2 unidentified]; recites 'Woodman Spare the Tree' and 'Queen of the May'; sings [unidentified]; recites the words of 'All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough'; sings [2 unidentified]; sings 'Little Brown Jug' [fragment]; sings [unidentified fragment]. [Tr. 5]


Fred Henley sings song fragment [I live in Trafalgar Square]. [Tr. 6]


William Cooper and his wife, Mary Cooper, recorded in Tilsworth; talk about the local vicar; the Anchor pub and the family's ownership; Feast/agricultural stattins - boxing booths on the green; land ownership and Quit Rent; threshing with a hand-operated machine; local people and ownership of buildings in the village, including reference to the snob shop [shoemaker, cobbler] and ownership of the pub; discuss the local pig keeper; Mr. Cooper's family farm, the Manor House, another farm and labourers' cottages all discussed; local inhabitants discussed; beer drinking and costs; the stocks tree. [Tr. 7]


Fred Henley sings song fragment [I live in Trafalgar Square]; sings [2 unidentified]; talks about singing with Harry Scott; sings [unidentified fragment]. [Tr. 8]


George Kirby, recorded in the sitting room of Tilsworth village Post Office [with the local Postmaster, Mr. Hyde, and Mrs. Hyde]; talks about the Star Inn and tollgate (final location); the village piggery; the Manor House and moat; old buildings making up the Anchor pub (since demolished), and surrounding land; the stocks tree; describes composition and use of a thrail for threshing - working in tandem with another man; sieving; dressing machine; ploughing teams - four horses, also with three (triangle) and two horses (double); commands to horses; bird scaring as a boy, with a clapper - sings accompanying song - pay and hours of work; catching birds with nets; the stocks tree. [Tr. 9]


Tape 3. [3 of 8].

Access and usage

Reproduction

Access

This material has not yet been assessed under Data Protection and/or other relevant legislation that may limit the access that can be provided. Cultural Collections staff will need to review the material before the access level(s) can be determined. Limits on access may include items being closed, being only available for viewing onsite and/or limitations on copying or photography.

This material is in copyright. Photocopies or digital images can be supplied by the Library for research or private study. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the copyright holder's permission to reproduce for any other purpose. Guidance is available on tracing copyright status and ownership.

Physical and technical conditions

9.5cm/sec. All recordings made on the right-hand track.

Related material

The collector's lists of informants and interview locations, and correspondence between Bedfordshire County Record Office and the University of Leeds relating to the sound recordings and their deposit, are held in file LAVC/SRE/ARI/058.

Related subjects / tags

WARNING: many of our records have not been classified by subject. So if you search our catalogue by subject using the links below then you are unlikely to find all relevant records. But you will find some...

Related people and organisations