The Bonny Blue Handkerchief

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

Language: English

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."

Transcript:
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.

Rights: The rights to the audio, photographic, and video materials contained within the Lomax Digital Archive are administered by various publishers, record labels, collectors, estates, and other rights holders. Any uses, commercial or not, must be cleared by the specific rights holders. For questions regarding the use of any material on the LDA, please contact Permissions.

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