Extracts from Alan Hesldon’s CR-ROM “Vaughan Williams In Norfolk”:
Friday January 13th – King’s Lynn North End
Vaughan Williams went first to Mr William Harper in Watson’s Yard, where he had visited Mr Carter on Monday and Tuesday and where they settled down to a mammoth session.
He didn’t start well though, being possibly still a little nervous, and forgetting the words of Paul Jones or the American Frigate which he sang to a Dorian melody, but recovered and produced 8 more songs, including Just as the Tide was Flowing which Vaughan Williams had declined to accept from Mr Bayley a couple of days earlier. After nine songs Vaughan Williams left to meet Mr Donger, probably at his sail-loft near the Tuesday Market Place. First he went to visit a Mr Smith. He sang verses of several songs that Vaughan Williams had heard before that week but there was another version of Bold Princess Royal similar to that of Mr Crisp but different enough to be jotted down. Mr Donger’s songs were mostly about the sea, the outstanding one being a forebitter called the Coast of Peru, and he had excellent melodies also to Glencoe and Van Dieman’s Land. In all Vaughan Williams noted seven songs from him.
Saturday January 14th – King’s Lynn North End
On his last day in King’s Lynn he had time to visit five people whom he wanted to see or hear again. It was the first morning he had walked through the area when the children were not at school and he made his way to Mr Donger’s house in Begley’s Yard. They concluded their work of yesterday and Vaughan Williams noted an excellent version of Banks of Claudy which was a new song to him. Unfortunately there was not time to get the words but he knew it to be fairly common, so he said thank you and farewell and hurried from Begley’s Yard to Churchman’s almost opposite, where Mr Anderson awaited him. His first song was another Bold Princess Royal, but a quite different tune to that of Mr Crisp and Mr Carter so down it went into the book, followed by a beautiful tune to Young Indian Lass, another candidate for conversion to a hymn tune as it was precisely 11 syllables every line and rose to a peak at the end of the third line as he’d been told many, many years ago all good hymn tunes did. Then it was time to go to Watson’s Yard, say thank you and farewell to Mr Carter and to note his last song in Lynn from the singer who gave him his first – a pleasing ‘da capo’. Mr Carter had remembered Golden Glove and he was keen to sing it. Vaughan Williams accepted the gift, jotted it down easily as Mr Carter sang a few verses so clearly, noted the first words and then closed his manuscript book on a memorable chapter in his folk song collecting.
Friday 13th January
Saturday 14th January