During 1904 Vaughan Williams recorded over 200 songs and by the end of the year he was keen to expand his collecting to new geographical areas. It is thought that, after an appeal in the press, he made contact with the Reverend Newnum at Tilney All Saints Church. John Henry Newnum had been vicar at Tilney All Saints for some 14 years at this point and was also inspector of schools for the Diocese in the Marshland and so would have had many local contacts. A visit was arranged for the weekend of January 7th and 8th, 1905, a visit that would lead to the notation of 15 songs and tunes as performed by 2 local musicians, Stephen Poll and John Whitby.

Songs collected in Tilney All Saints/Tilney St Lawrence, from the transcriptions of Alan Helsdon

7th January 1905

Musician: Mr Stephen Poll

Tunes: Gipsies In The Wood, Ladies’ Triumph, Low Back’d Car, Trip To The Cottage

Song: The Foxhunt

7th/8th January 1905

Singer: Mr Whitby

Songs: Lord Bateman, Early In The Spring, Bold Carter, Lord Lovel, Maria Marten, The Streams Of Lovely Nancy, Young Girl Cut Down, Green Bushes, The Crafty Ploughboy, Searching For Young Lambs