Sound Recordings, Bedfordshire
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: Sound Recordings, Bedfordshire
Classmark: LAVC/SRE/A749r
Creator(s): Shaw, David H
Site Location(s): Subject - Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire, England, Untied Kingdom( 51.877, -0.59167 )
Date(s): 1956
Size and medium: 1 x 17.8cm open reel spool; Duration: 147' 16".
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/414800
Collection group(s): Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture
Description
Ted Brown, recorded in the farm of John Costin at Eaton Bray [the voice of Mr. Costin's Housekeeper is also heard]; talks about the work of a blacksmith; the cost and composition of horseshoes; mending reins; agricultural labourers' wages; fitting metal tyres on wheels;hanging a scythe; haywork during the summer season, in Pinner (piece work); describes a ?snudgel (implement for retrieving a pail from the bottom of a well); making pig rings (pig ringing); describes the thatch hooks in the village church, which held rakes used to draw down thatch from a roof that was on fire; blacksmith's quenching trough; anti-slip horseshoes for the winter; decline in the number of working horses; Leighton Buzzard Horse Fair (February 5th); plough/harrow repairs - costs; farm labourers' wages in the 1950s; cost of living in the early 1900s; the good old days; discuss songs, including [first line: 'I was born in the old county of Bedfordshire']; bad times and the cost of food; the work ethic; Bedfordshire
drill; John Costin talks about one of his farm labourers. [Tr. 1]
Bert Proctor, recorded in Eaton Bray; talks about ploughing; piece work and wages at local lime kilns; working on Horace Henley's farm; showing people around caves that form part of a limestone quarry in Totternhoe; describes a rick fire; relates anecdotes about local characters; skating on a local pond; using a frail to thrash corn - describes its parts and construction; describes the technique for mowing with a scythe, and names the parts of the scythe. [Tr. 2]
Sid Purcell, recorded in Eaton Bray; talks about a ?snudgel (implement for retrieving a pail from the bottom of a well); describes a thrashing frail used by his father up to 1900, and the technique for using it [ Mrs. Purcell contributes]; describes the differences between fagging and reaping hooks; drags, used to pull burning thatch from a roof; further talk of using a frail; the collector's work and Luton Museum; roadmenders breaking flints. [Tr. 3]
Geoff Archer [the collector's uncle], recorded in Eaton Bray; talks about horse dealing; working horses; conversation re. animals, local people, the tape recorder, pig keeping, Ted Brown, Sid Purcell, beer, Ted Brown and his blacksmith's shop. [Tr. 4]
Tape 4. [4 of 8].
Access and usage
Reproduction
Access
This collection is currently being worked on by the Special Collections team and therefore may not always be readily available for users to consult. Please contact staff in advance if you would like to access the material.
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.
Not all items have a specific location so additional searches will be requiredThe filter at the top right of the map can be used to filter on sub-collection locations