Granby (SK7536), Nottinghamshire

M.W.Barley Collection (1950, L.Butler - a)

Lawrence Butler (Col.)
[Tunes and Notes on Plough Plays]
*M.W.Barley Collection, Com. 30th Dec.1953

Letter about Plough Plays, containing tunes and numerous three tunes to the play from Colsterworth, Lincs., (Collected from Mr.E.Shields) mentioning the characters Recruiting Sergeant, Farmers Boy and Serving Girl. The tunes are given to the final song from East Drayton, Notts., (collected from Canon R.F.Wilkinson), and to a folk song "The Wrestling Match" or "Bill Scrimshaw" from Lenton, Lincs. The play tunes were collected in December 1953.

A number of original references are given in the following passage;

"Although you have ommitted the list of villages where the dance was known to exist, I can add to it from my grandmother's knowledge - Bingham, Granby, Elton; from Mrs. Atkins of Shelford - Radcliffe-on-Trent and Cotgrave; from Mrs. Mee of Shelford - Empingham, Rutland (with account of their dress)"

References to published work include; J.P.Briscoe (1876), J.P.Briscoe (1878), E.L.Guilford (1942), J.Needham & A.L.Peck (1936) [should be 1933], and J.E.F.D.S.S.? (1937) [probably A.R.Wright & T.E.Lones (1938).]

Nottinghamshire Local History Council Collection (1960, S.G.Pepper)

S. G. Pepper (Auth.)
Granby: Memories of a Villager [Plough Bullocks]
Nottinghamshire Local History Council Collection, Written 7th Mar.1960, Ref.DD/121/1/29, 9pp.

Entry to an essay competition on old village life at Granby, Notts. It includes the following (pp.2-3);

"The year's social activities began on the Monday after Epiphany when a band of young farmhands dressed in grotesque fashion demanded in rhyme admission to perform their antics. Usually they met with a good reception and at the end of their performance these 'plough bullocks' came away with coins in their box which they divided among themselves at the end of the evening."

E.C.Cawte (1975)

*E. C. Cawte (Auth.)
Chapter 5: Two Teams in Nottinghamshire
*E.C.Cawte Collection, In preparation 1975, Book manuscript: 'The wooing play in the Midland Wolds'

These two plays come from a book that was prepared but never published.

From Granby, Notts., there is a brief but complete text and description of a Plough Monday play performed in the 1890s at. This was tape-recorded from a performer. The characters are: First Character, Recruit Sergeant/Second Character, Beelzebub/Third Character, Dame Jane, and Doctor

From Langar, Notts., there are text fragments only of a Plough Monday play that ceased about 1910, mentioning the characters: First Man, Betsy Ann, Doctor, and Sergeant.

* indicates data that not yet been validated against the original source and/or has yet to be completely indexed.