The Bonny Blue Handkerchief

Audio file
Date recorded: January , 1954
Contributor(s): Performer: Barrow-On-Humber Plough Players; Performer: Stanley, Bill; Recordist: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s):
Genre: ballad
Culture: English
Instruments: voice
Location: Barrow-On-Humber, North Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T3350
Track Number: 12
Archive ID: T3350R12
Note: Discussion of the Plough Play's roots (as a fertility rite), its revival, and its context. "For beer and money… [and the plow was blessed] for good luck."
Belongs to: Barrow-On-Humber 1/54
About the session: Recordings of the Plough Play (a Mummer's Play performed on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night) in Barrow-On-Humber. The cast is: Tom Fool: Frank Bell / Thrashing Blade: Wilfred Bell / Beelzebub: Jesse Mumby / Hopper Joe: Tom Stanley / Musical Jack: Bill Stanley (63 years old) / Besom Bet: Roy Lawrence / Hobby Horse: Luke Stanley (22 years old) / Ploughboy: Maurice Broughton / Dame Jane: Percy Housam / Recruiting Sergeant: Kenneth Bell / Lady: Norman Bilton / Indian King: Jack Martin / Doctor: Joseph Wilson / Foreign Traveller: Rowland Thompson.
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