Charlie Philpot (1877-1965)
Charlie (Frederick Charles) Philpot was born in 1877 in Cratfield, a small village near Halesworth in northeast Suffolk, and the family moved into Halesworth itself before Charlie was three years old. Charlie told his grandson Reg Reader that he first started to learn to play from his father, James Philpot, when he was three, and he told Russell Wortley that the Mountains of Mourne was the first tune he learned. Reg reflected: ‘He was an only child so I supposed he got a lot of attention, and he was left-handed which maybe helped him to rattle the tunes out because, my God, he did rattle them out.’
By the age of 14 Charlie was employed as a baker’s boy – he may well have been working for William Chilvers junior, who ran a bakery in Chediston Street between 1881 and 1895) and whose father had made the dulcimer owned by the Philpot family! By 1901 he was working as a boot riveter, continuing in the shoe trade for the rest of his life. In 1903 he married Ada Johnson and by 1911 they had started what was to become a large family and were still living in Chediston Street. Charlie’s trade came in useful during the First World War, keeping him away from the frontline, mending soldiers’ boots. In 1921 he and his growing family were still on Chediston Street, but later in the 1920s the family moved to Yoxford, where they had a shoe shop at the front of Veranda House, with living quarters at the back. Charlie certainly made up for being an only child himself by having ten children, out of which nine were girls!
Charlie and Ada sometimes took the train from Halesworth to Southwold for the weekend and stayed at the King’s Head (where Ada’s uncle, John Marshall was the licensee between 1891 and 1908) and in the evenings he would entertain in the public bar on the dulcimer.
He is said to have taken the dulcimer with him to the various army camps (see also Billy Cooper).
After the 1914-18 war, he continued to play in pubs locally, sometimes in the company of renowned local melodeon player Ernie Seaman from Darsham. Ernie was quite a character and Charlie was reputed to be a good stepdancer, so they probably had some lively times! By the time Reg remembered him, in the early 1940s, he rarely played anywhere except at home, where he was sometimes joined by George Bailey and George Carver on banjo and mandolin. Reg did recall the occasion of his grandparents’ golden wedding party in 1953, when Charlie played in the Griffin public house in Yoxford, together with the landlord on fiddle.
Charlie died in 1965.
His daughter told Keith Summers, when interviewed in the 1970s: ‘He loved all those old reels, jigs, marches, and he knew a terrific number of music hall songs.’
Keith’s survey of the traditional music making in East Suffolk was published under the title ‘Sing, Say or Pay!’ in ‘Traditional Music’ magazine in 1977 and is now available online. Follow this link to read his interview with Charlie’s daughter and grandson Reg Reader.
There are a few recordings of Charlie Philpot available:
- Charlie Philpot was recorded by Russell Wortley in 1962
Here is a taster of Charlie playing The Breakdown, a tune which would have been popular for stepdancing. It’s on the album I Thought I was the Only One: follow the link below to find out more.
VTDC12CD ‘I thought I was the only one’ – Dulcimer playing in East Anglia
Charlie Philpot features on two tracks:
- Track: 29. Waltz
- Track: 30. Breakdown
The album was produced by John Howson on the Veteran label and is available as a physical album or downloads from the Veteran website. The Veteran label is under new management (2025) and the content is being transferred to the new system – if you can’t find the album online, just contact them directly.
Charlie Philpot’s dulcimer
Charlie Philpot inherited his dulcimer from his father James Philpot and it was handed down to his grandson Reg Reader.
More photos and information about Charlie Philpot’s dulcimer
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