William Winter's Quantock's Tune Book  

This tune book contains 376 tunes selected from the manuscript of WILLIAM WINTER which is kept in the Kennedy Grant Library at Halsway Manor.  William Winter was a fiddle player who lived from 1774 to 1861 in the Quantock Hills in Somerset. He played in a church band and for country dances and worked as a shoemaker in the villages of Lydeard St Lawrence and West Bagborough. The introduction to the book describes Winter’s life and his music as well as life in Somerset in the early 19th century.  The book contains many unfamiliar tunes as well as different versions of familiar jigs, waltzes, polkas, hornpipes and marches.  The accompanying CD contains a selection of 32 tunes, from over 300 tunes in the book, played by Rob Harbron (concertina), Miranda Rutter and Nancy Kerr (fiddles), with Tim van Eyken (melodeon). This book will appeal to dance and other musicians and anyone interested in the musical history of the West Country.

£18 + £3.50 P&P.  To place your order phone 01984 618274 

Songs and Stories of Ruth Tongue

Ruth Tongue “a remarkable woman and a true eccentric” lived from 1898 until 1981. She was a collector and animal lover but also an enigma. She moved to Crowcombe, near Taunton, Somerset in 1954 and lived in an isolated cottage on the Quantocks where she became immersed in folklore. This biography and collection of songs, many of which have not been published before, will be of interest to anyone interested in folklore, folk song and storytelling.

£18  + £3.50 P&P. To place your order phone 01984 618274