Other Suffolk dulcimer players
There are many Suffolk dulcimer players for whom we have only a passing reference or just a few details, or who cannot be positively identified.
Barkway, F. – Brockdish /Needham
A newspaper report about a workmens’ treat held on 27th December 1888 says, ‘Some excellent music was given by H. Barkway (violin), F. Barkway (dulcimer) and W. Shemming on the German flute.’ This was for employees at Syleham Mill, and held “through the kindness of Mr and Mrs Holmes”. We have come across the Holmes before, hosting other such munificent events with music from the Shemming family. (Diss Express, 4th January 1889)
Whilst no H. Barkway has been traced, I am fairly sure that F. Barkway was one of two brothers, either Frederick Barkway (1863-1925) or Frank Barkway (1873-1948). Their family kept the Fellmonger’s Arms in nearby Brockdish for many years and their brother Thomas (possibly the T. Barkway mentioned in the article) lived near the Holmes in Syleham, with family members working at the drabbet mill. Frederick and Frank both remained single all their lives and worked in the family trade of fellmongering (leather-working) and glove-making. Sometime after the Fellmongers’ Arms was closed, the two brothers moved to Needham where they lived out the remainder of their lives.
Bates, Mr C. – Beccles
In February 1889, the Thetford and Watton Times carried a report of a concert which took place in Beccles Town Hall, in connection with the Working Men’s Club of the town. The paragraph mentioned that “three dulcimer solos by Mr C. Bates, were worthy of admiration” and later mentioned another item: “Dulcimer solo, with banjo accompaniment, Messrs. C. and A. Bates.”
Through genealogical research I have found two brothers named Charles and Austin Bates living in Beccles at this date. They were the sons of a waterman, George Bates, and both were unmarried at this time. Charles Bates (whose dates are uncertain, but who was born between 1855 and 1860) worked as a blacksmith whilst his younger brother Austin (1862-1920) worked in the bakery trade.
Bendall, Mr – Rattlesden
The grandson of Alick Sparks from Rattlesden told us that his grandfather had been inspired by hearing a dulcimer player locally, one of the Bendall family from Hightown Green. There was certainly a large family by this name farming near the windmill near Gedding in the 1881 census but it has not been possible to identify who was the dulcimer player among them.
Brand, Miss M. – Thelnetham
In January 1895, an entertainment was held in the School Room in Thelnetham and on the programme was Miss M. Brand, playing a selection of tunes on the dulcimer and also accompanying singer Kitty Wells. (Bury Free Press, 12 January 1895)
I have not been able to trace her further, although she may well be the same person advertising for a situation wanted in June 1898:
Brinkley, Mr – Walton
For two years between February 1880 and April 1882 the local newspapers carried regular reports of Penny Readings held in the School Room at Walton near Felixstowe, where Mr Brinkley’s dulcimer solos were a highlight of the amateur entertainments provided.
I have not been able to identify this man further. The Brinkley name is well known in Felixstowe folklore now, as the ferryman from 1895 onwards was a larger-than-life character called Charlie Brinkley, but his family wasn’t in the area at the date of these newspaper reports.
Chilvers, S. – Aldeburgh
A Mr. S. Chilvers played dulcimer and flute solos as part of an amateur concert party (‘in the Christy Minstrel style’) in Aldeburgh over the winter of 1870-1871. He does not seem to have been related to William Chilvers, who made dulcimers in Halesworth.
Churchard, Mr B. – Bury St. Edmunds (and Wright, Mr C.)
Throughout the 1890s, Mr B. Churchard and his friend Mr C. Wright were busy playing playing at socials and fetes in aid of the Temperance movement n Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding villages. Mr Wright played the piano, Mr Churchard sang, and they both played the dulcimer, with their dulcimer duets mentioned a number of times. They played in the ‘East End Minstrels’ together until about 1900 when all newspaper reports stop. Then unexpectedly, in 1933, Mr Churchard puts in one final appearance in the newspapers, playing the dulcimer as part of the Bury St Edmunds Unemployed Workers Association Concert Party. His talents appeared undimmed after 30 years, the newspaper report commenting: ‘Mr B. Churchard can play a dulcimer in capital style, and his selections proved popular.’ (Bury Free Press 25th March 1933)
Genealogical investigations have not been able to positively identify these men further.
Cullum, Mr – Lowestoft
In 2001 we carried out a community music project in Lowestoft and we were told of a Mr. Cullum who played the dulcimer in the Factory Arms in Factory Street in the 1920s. His wife played the concertina, and charged the children a penny each to come into her house in Thurston Street and listen to the music – the money went to the Lowestoft Hospital. We have not been able to find anyone by that name or similar in Thurston Road, but it seems quite likely to have been Walter Cullum and his second wife Eliza, who lived in Queen’s Road, just across Crown St West from Thurston Road.
Fairweather, Master F. – Framlingham
Master Walter Fairweather played a dulcimer solo in a concert in aid of the Band of Hope in the United Methodist Free Church, Framlingham. (Framlingham Weekly News, 12th December 1885)
This was either Walter (1870-1924), whose father Henry who was a gardener in the same area of the town or Walter (1879-1954), whose father John who ran a coal merchants right in the centre of town, in Well Close Square. The second Walter would only have been six at the date of the concert reported in 1885, which would be very young. He lived in the centre of Framlingham all his life and ran a garage established in 1914, so he would have been well-known in the town: if he had been an active dulcimer player into the twentieth century, I think word would have reached us through oral sources. However, he did have a sister called Florence, and a Miss F. Fairweather performed in the same concert. The first Walter trained as printer in the town and set up his own business in Halesworth sometime in the 1890s. He would have been fifteen at the time of the concert, so maybe it was him – we’ll probably never know!
Foulsham, Robert – Huntingfield
A dulcimer belonging to a Mr. Robert Foulsham was offered for sale in Huntingfield on October 6th 1869, along with a harmonium, a barometer and various household effects.
I have not been able to trace Robert Foulsham, but by the list of belongings he sounds to have been a man of the middle classes; and notably no agricultural items or other trade-related were offered for sale.
Holland, W. – Riddlesworth
A Mr W. Holland played the dulcimer and sang ‘When I Took Mary-Anne to the Tea Party’ at the Riddlesworth Cricket Club tea held in the Commercial Hotel, Hopton in 1898. A relative, Mr J. Holland played the piano. (Bury Free Press, 8th October 1898).
I have not been able to identify the Hollands, although there was a shepherd named William Holland living in Riddlesworth from 1899-1901.
Howell, Thomas – Kirkley, Lowestoft
During September 1829, a series of three notices in the Norwich Mercury advertised a forthcoming sale of live and dead farming stock in Kirtley (Kirkley) in Lowestoft, the property of the late Thomas Howell. Headlining the items was a ‘curious spinet, a great piece of antiquity, being nearly 300 years old, a dulcimer, a brass blunderbuss …’ Thomas Howell (1759-1827) was a farmer who had died (“gallstones, worn out”) in 1827 at the age of 68.
Mayes, James – Elveden
James Mayes (1828-1908) played two dulcimer solos in a village concert in Elveden in November 1890 (Bury & Norwich Post, 8.12.1890), one of them named as Haste to the Wedding. His son, William Mayes played piano and violin duets with his wife and another son, John, gave a short magic lantern display of English and foreign views during the interval. Two years later, another report reveals that James Mayes also sang comic songs (Bury Free Press 26.11.1892). Both events were in support of the Primrose League, a Conservative organisation founded in 1883.
James Mayes was a gamekeeper who had lived in Elveden since at least 1871. He was born in 1828 in Sudborough, Northamptonshire and, as a young man, moved to Lythe on the north Yorkshire coast. He lived in Elveden for at least twenty years and in later life moved into Thetford to run a mill making food for game birds. He was buried in Elveden on 26th October 1908, aged 80 at death.
Miller, Mr – Ipswich
‘An air on the Dulcimer, by Mr. Miller, was also cleverly executed’ during a concert given at the Mechanics’ Institute in central Ipswich by the Young Men’s Association on 2nd January 1849.
‘The meeting – a full house – was of an exceedingly interesting character, and well calculated to carry out the objects of the promoters the Association—to elevate and improve our young men’s social intercourse and rational amusement.’ (Suffolk Chronicle, 6.1.1849)
Newsom (Newson), Mr – Framlingham
In Russell Wortley’s notes about dulcimer players there is a brief note which just says “Mr Newsom, near Castle Bookshop, Framlingham”, and it looks as if it might have been fiddle player Alan Waller who passed on the contact to him. No Newsom in Framlingham has been found, but there were Newsons in Castle Street, in fact two apparently unrelated men called Arthur Newson, ran the Castle Inn from 1904 to at least 1939. The youngest son of the second of these men, yet another Arthur Newson (1917-2012) seems the most likely contender. From a report of his wedding in 1938 we learn he was a keen musician:
“The bridegroom, who until some three years ago had spent the whole of his life in the town, was a keen musician, being leading member of the town band. He served an apprenticeship in hairdressing locally, and on his removal to another situation in Diss, still pursued his musical activities, placing a cornet in the Diss Town Band and trumpet in a dance orchestra.”
After World War Two he returned to live in Framlingham, where he died aged 95 in 2012. It seems likely this was the man referred to, but if not, it was probably another Arthur Newson!
Roberts, James – Badwell Ash
A Mr. J. Roberts played a “pleasingly executed” dulcimer solo: “Poor Old Joe” in an entertainment in Badwell Ash in April 1886 (Bury Free Press 1 May 1886).
This turns out to be the new landlord at the White Horse Inn, James Roberts (1853-1914). Roberts was from South Mimms in Hertfordshire and seems to have been in the village for a couple of years prior to taking on the licence of the sixteenth century pub on 22nd March 1886. He then kept the pub for the next 28 years, despite being partially sighted by 1911. In 1915, a year after his death, his furniture and personal effects were offered for sale a year, when the list of items included “musical instruments”. We know nothing more about James Roberts’ music-making; most of the other newspaper reports concern his providing catering for outside events.
Rumsby family – Palgrave
During a visit to Diss with the Travelling Morrice in 1966, Russell Wortley had been told about a musical family from the nearby village of Palgrave. He had their name as Romsby, but it was actually Rumsby, and they played dulcimer, fiddle and accordion. Russell’s informant remembered that they would play at Christmas time, but said it was years ago and they were all dead now.
There were one or two bands in existence in Palgrave – a fife and drum band which was very active in the 1860s through to the 1880s, and a string band operational in the latter decade. The “Palgrave Band” instruments were offered for sale en masse at an auction in 1891, but we can guess that at least one of its members, William Rumsby, owned his own instrument. William is known to have played the violin, and his three brothers were also members of the same band. (Bury Free Press, 6 August 1948)
William Rumsby (1865-1955) was a blacksmith and had two half-brothers and three full brothers: Charles (1864-1947)a carpenter and wheelwright, James (1867-1956) a gardener, and Alfred (1868-1954), also a blacksmith.
Which of these played the dulcimer is not known.
Sach, A.E. – Ipswich
In 1891, “Mr. A. E. Sach’s dulcimer selections were a musical treat much appreciated by the audience” at the Ipswich Young Men’s Christian Association New Year party, held in the Co-operative Hall in the town.
This was Alfred Sachs (1869-), then aged 22 and a tailor’s cutter. His father, Robert, was a cabinet maker, so maybe he made a dulcimer for his son. Alfred went on to open his own tailor’s shop on Tavern Street, opposite the Great White Horse, in April 1899, and in 1901 business was good enough for him to have a female servant to help his wife and two young daughters. In 1902 he advertised heavily in the local newspapers, but soon decided to seek pastures new and emigrated to Illinois in February 1904, where it is believed he lived out the rest of his life.
Smith, Charles – Glemsford
The organisers of an entertainment in Cavendish were very pleased to have ‘obtained the services of Mr. Charles Smith of Glemsford, whose playing upon the dulcimer and his singing delighted everyone’ (Bury Free Press 22.2.1890). This was one of two Charles Smiths in Cavendish at the time; either a Cocoa Nut Mat manufacturer (b.1849) or one of his employees by the same name (b.1846), both living on Fair Green.
Tuttle, Mr – Lowestoft
In 1891, Messrs Otway and Tuttle we amongst the performers at a juvenile entertainment held in Lowestoft, and their ‘performances on the piccolo and dulcimer created general gratification.’ (Lowestoft Journal, 30.5.1891).
Wedge, Mr – Thetford
In 1915, a concert held in aid of the Red Cross in Thetford included Private Wedge playing the dulcimer with his son on banjo. The also did a song and dance act with bones, suggesting a minstrel style and repertoire. Presumably Mr Wedge was home on leave as his son performed with him, but we have not been able to identify him any further. (Bury Free Press, 30.10.1915).
Webb, Mr – Beccles
A Mr. Webb played a dulcimer solo in an amateur entertainment in Beccles in 1890. It was held in the Congregational Schoolroom, by members of the Beccles Liberal Association and the programme included songs and sketches (Ipswich Journal 8.3.1890). I have not been able to make a positive identification for Mr Webb.
Woods, James and Wood, Henry James – Thrandeston
Not one, but two sales held in Thrandeston near Diss in the early twentieth century included a dulcimer in the items for sale. They were sold by two members of the same family, the Woods, who were small farmers in the Shimpling and Thrandeston area for many decades.
The older of the two, James, was one of nine children born to James Woods and his housekeeper Elizabeth Brundle who eventually married in 1864 and had another three children. “Our” James (1857-1925) married in 1878 and moved from Shimpling to a farm a few miles away in Walcot Green, and from there to Thrandeston where he lived for the remainder of his life. The sale notice in 1909 includes a good amount of farming equipment, 70 chickens and a couple of cows and is described as a ‘Michaelmas Sale’; suggesting that Mr Woods was on the move, as this was the customary time of year for tenancies to change hands, and it was common to sell up equipment rather than try and move it all. However, he doesn’t seem to have moved far, as he was still in Thrandeston in the 1911 census, but apparently at a different address. He and his wife Rebecca had only one child who lived to adulthood – Henry James, born in 1893. Henry also went into farming and married in Spring 1916. Sadly, he died only a couple of years later, aged 25, on 3rd May 1918. It looks as if his father and he had bought a small farm together as in July, a 5-acre smallholding with barns, piggeries and grazing rights on Thrandeston Green and a cottage with orchards let out to a tenant was offered for sale.
In September, the surplus of his belongings were being sold, including ‘three swing looking glasses, night commode, large bath, dulcimer, usual kitchen requisites, two milk pans &c.’
So it seems that both James Woods and his son Henry James Woods (1893-1918)played the dulcimer – whether the same instrument or not is not known, but as Henry was still living with his parents and moved with them after the 1909 sale, it seems unlikely he would have bought it off his father. So either it didn’t sell and Henry kept it until 1918, or his father had two and kept one, or Henry bought one himself. However they don’t appear on any of the village concert programmes, although in 1919 James was chairing a Smoking Concert for Thrandeston Quoits Club at the Queen’s Head, there are no details of the programme. (Diss Express, 3.10.1919).
Woods, Thomas – Market Weston
The Diss Express of 17th April, 1885 carried an notice of an auction sale of ‘Household Furniture, Harmonium, Dulcimer, Earthenware &c of Mr Thos. Woods’ in Market Weston.
This is probably Thomas Woods, b .1853 in Walsham-le-Willows, a labourer (probably gardening) in Market Weston in the 1881 census. He appears to have moved to Islington, London by 1891, which may be related to the sale of his possessions.
Wright, Mr C. – Bury St Edmunds
See Churchard, above
Young, Frederick Austin – Wortham
In 1919, Mr F.A Young of Wortham near Diss placed an advertisement in the local newspaper to sell some of his belongings, including the tools of his trade – tailor’s sewing machines – as well as two dulcimers and some mandolins.
Frederick Austin Young (1867-1949) was not a local man, he had been in the village perhaps some ten years or so, having been born in Great Dunmow, Essex and lived in Cardiff and Ipswich. The reason for the sale is that he was on the move again, first locally to Shelfanger, where he was in June 1921, and subsequently to Bristol, where his son was living and where Frederick lived until his death nearly thirty years later.
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