Mollie Whitaker (1913-2004)
Click here for more photos of Mollie Whitaker
Mollie Elizabeth Whitaker was born in 1915 in north Norfolk; her parents moved around a fair bit before settling in Wells-next-the-Sea, a small port and holiday resort on the north Norfolk coast where Mollie then lived for the rest of her life.
She played a small north Norfolk style dulcimer, which she inherited from her father Jimmy Rutland and which is thought to have belonged to her grandfather before that. It’s quite likely that Mollie did not have her own dulcimer between 1935 when she married Dick Whitaker and 1951 when her father died. Two of her sisters, Kathie (b.1910) and Alice (b.1920) could also play the dulcimer, with Kathie reputedly being the best, but it was Mollie who inherited the dulcimer and continued to play it.
According to Kath Youngman (wife of dulcimer player John Youngman) “Dick Whitaker, who she (Mollie) married; he never did drink and she was in The Bowling Green that particular night and she said, ‘I shall get ever so told off when I go home.’ I don’t think he was very keen on her going in the pubs playing. I mean, she never did drink a lot! She just loved the music.”
Dick made her a case to keep it in, which Mollie needed, as although she didn’t play in pubs (she and Dick were actually Methodists) she did take the dulcimer out regularly to entertain at local clubs and parties, and at one time she was part of the Holkham concert party.
In the 1970s she came to the attention of dulcimer player and researcher David Kettlewell, and in 1981 John and Katie Howson first visited her. She was then living in a bungalow in Knitting Needle Lane and the dulcimer was kept under the bed. With some encouragement, and many protestations along the lines of “Oh, I can’t play like that Mr Bennington!” Mollie got the dulcimer out. John set his equipment up, and expecting that such an apparently reticent little old lady would play rather hesitantly, he set the recording levels quite high. The indicators on the volume dials suddenly shot straight up to maximum, as we became acquainted for the first time with Mollie’s lively playing style!
According to David Kettlewell, her beaters had been made for her by Billy Cooper, but she found the red wool covering too quiet, and liked to use string instead, for a more striking sound.
Her repertoire largely consisted of popular songs, interspersed with the occasional step-dance tune and waltz. Her style was actually quite complex, as she played the melody mainly with the left hand whilst playing an accompaniment with the right hand beater.
She always enjoyed herself hugely on the musical outings arranged by the Howsons in the 1980s and 90s, and in particular she was thrilled to meet her dulcimer hero, Billy Bennington. Although she didn’t play so much in her later years, she always enjoyed a yarn and a chance to listen to the old music. A measure of how much this friendship meant to her is that when she died in 2004, she left her dulcimer to John Howson. John went to her funeral feeling slightly anxious about this, but her remaining family were also pleased it was going to a good home where it would be appreciated.
Further information about Mollie and her life can be found in:
Chris Holderness’s article about Wells-next-the-Sea: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/wells_ns.htm
There are a few recordings of Mollie Whitaker available:
- Mollie Whitaker was recorded by David Kettlewell and Steve Shipley in 1975.
- John Howson recorded Mollie on several occasions 1981 to 1987.
Here is a taster of Mollie playing a waltz which we usually refer to as the Wells Waltz. It’s on the album I Thought I was the Only One: follow the link below to find out more about this album.
Mollie Whitaker’s dulcimer
More photos and information about Mollie’s dulcimer.
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