Singer: Mr Woods
There was only one song from Mr Woods, but no name from Vaughan Williams in the manuscript book he noted the songs in. However, there seems to have been another book in use, apparently for rough notes, and Vaughan Williams includes in this, giving the source as ‘Woods’, two sets of words – ‘The Keys of Heaven’ and ‘The Miller and Three Sons’. George Butterworth also credits ‘Woods’ with the former.
It is simply not possible to say which of two brothers sang if there was only one of them, or even if they sang in unison as did brothers Harry and Ben Baxter as recorded by Peter Kennedy and Seamus Ennis at Southrepps, north Norfolk in 1952 – 6.
December 19 1911
Singer: Mr William Tufts Snr. / Jnr.
The only census available where the occupants filled in their own returns is that of April 2nd 1911 and William Senior wrote TUFTS quite clearly, so we must ignore the fact that the enumerators of 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1861 and Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth in December 1911 all got the surname wrong. As someone whose family name is Helsdon and who grew up in Norwich with its suburb of Hellesdon I sympathise strongly with all Tufts past and present.
Tufts father and son span a huge period of 111 years from the baptism of William Senior in 1829, long before the 1841 census, to 1940 when his son died. In December 1911 when they sang, they were aged 83 and 56, and we should be glad Vaughan Williams came to South Norfolk when he did as the elder Mr Tufts died only a year later.
December 19 1911