FTX-406 - THE VLY BE ON THE TURMUTS

Village Traditions - Wiltshire

A varied selection of songs, dances, dialect and customs including a Christmas MUMMERS Play, remembered in entirety by Fred PERRIER on Salisbury Plain, and "Rough Music" by some villagers at Great Wishford, who go to Salisbury Cathedral Whit-monday, for The GROVELEY Charter of 1603, which grants them annual forestry rights. Also included is the Shrove Tuesday PANCAKE SONG sung by Herbert PRINCE and THE BRUSH DANCE from Warminster as well as THE SIX-HAND CLAP DANCE and the Wiltshire version of THE TEMPEST.

1. THE TEMPEST (Country Dance) - The Moonraker's Band (leader: Ioan Jenkins) - 1'43"

2. THE WILTSHIRE WASHERWOMAN (The Linen Song) - Fred Perrier, Shrewton - 2'00"

3. Talk about her father - Fanny Rumble, Tilshead - 0'38"

4. DUMBLE DUM DOLLICKY - sung by Aunt Fanny - 2'48"

5. THE YOUNG SAILOR CUT DOWN IN HIS PRIME (talk bef) - Herbert Prince, Warminster - 4'10"

6. BEN AND THE BUTTER - recited by Fred Perrier - 2'29"

7. THE COUNTRY COURTSHIP - sung by Aunt Fanny & Albert Collins with Ioan Jenkins (fiddle) - 2'05"

8. Talk about her husband by Aunt Fanny - 0'35"

9. TATIES, CABBAGE AND ONIONS/ THE OYSTER GIRL (Four-hand Reel) - 1'11"

10. THE GROVELEY CHARTER, Salisbury Cathedral, Whit-Sunday, 1951 - 1'15"

11. ROUGH MUSIC used to waken villagers, Great Wishford, May 29th., 1951 - 1'13"

12. SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE SONG/ talk/ BRUSH DANCE (whistled) Herbert Prince - 2'10"

13. THE SIX-HANDED CLAP DANCE - Victor Baker (accordion), West Lavington, 1950 - 1'03"

14. THREE MAIDENS A-MILKING - Vashti Vincent, Sixpenny Handley, 1954 - 1'53"

15. HOME SWEET HOME - Sid Gutteridge (whistle), W.Lavington, 1950 - 1'41"

16. THE FEMALE DRUMMER - Vashti Vincent - 1'48"

17. CHRISTMAS MUMMERS PLAY - Fred Perrier - 12'32"

18. THE VLY BE ON THE TURMUTS - Fred with accordion & chorus - 2'52"

Recorded & edited by Peter Kennedy and first published on Folktrax cassettes 1977.

Most of these recordings were made by Peter in the early fifties on a portable full track tape-recorder made by Scophony-Baird, at Wells, Somerset, and represent his first efforts to bring to public notice some of the surviving local traditions of the West Country. Some were made in people's homes, others at "The Village Barn Dance" radio programmes which he organised for the BBC at Bristol.

#1. THE MOONRAKERS BAND, then playing for dances in the County, grew out of Peter's own HAYMAKERS BAND which was used for these broadcasts.

#9-11. The villagers of Great Wishford go to Salisbury annually on Whit-Sunday in order to hear the charter of 1603 and to make their cry of "Groveley, Groveley, Groveley and all Groveley" and to dance the FOUR-HAND REEL. The charter grants them the right to collect timber in Groveley Forest annually on May 29th, Oak Apple Day. They use their ROUGH MUSIC, early in the morning, banging pots and pans, ringing bells and blowing horns to waken the villages, accompanied by the Groveley cry and "Show a light there !".

#12. SHROVE TUESDAY, "Pancake Day", in Warminster, used to be celebrated with a special THREAD THE NEEDLE dance, explained by Herbert Prince, with its own special tune and rhyme. His mother used to walk to work at the local silk factory for 18 pence a week and they often did the dance to keep warm at other times of the year. It was a type of reel, in which the dancers go under arches, similar to "The Reel" that was once performed annually in the city of Durham.