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Posted (edited)

I found a nice photo in Bygone Shireoaks , the ex pit village in N. Notts on the N.Derbys and S.Yorks border we moved to last Christmas. It shows The Shireoaks Toppers band from the Miners Lockout in 1893. They raised awareness and funds and kept their spirits up. I am trying to find their repertoire. I thought the ones in the pic were EC and AC

 

 

At the other extreme I found by chance a few weeks later a piece in the diary of the 4th Duke of Newcastle of Clumber Park who was called by one enemy 'the most hated man in England' he first sank the pit in the 1840s and his later family would have been involved in the miners' dispute .

 

 

3rd January 1848 " We resumed our evening concerts again today my 4 daughters and I. harp, piano forte, treble and bass concertinas, and violin. It terminates the evening most agreeably"

 

He died 1851. I wonder if his concertinas had found their way to the workers 45 years after their soirees ? !.

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Edited by michael sam wild
Posted

I found a nice photo in Bygone Shireoaks , the ex pit village in N. Notts on the N.Derbys and S.Yorks border we moved to last Christmas. It shows The Shireoaks Toppers band from the Miners Lockout in 1893. They raised awareness and funds and kept heir spirits up. I am trying to find their repertoire. I thought one was EC and one AC

I'm pretty sure there's at least one more concertina, in the back row behind the banjo player's hat, judging by the way the fellow's holding his arms & hands.

 

This looks like a great find! Since the players' names are there, maybe there's a possibility to track down and inquire of some descendants?

 

At the other extreme I found a piece in the diary of the 4th Duke of Newcastle of Clumber Park who first sank the pit in the 1840s and whose family would have been involved in the miners' dispute .

 

3rd January 1848 " We resumed our evening concerts again today my 4 daughters and I. harp, piano forte, treble and bass concertinas, and violin. It terminates the evening most agreeably"

 

He died 1851. I wonder if his concertinas had found their way to the workers 45 years after their soirees ? !.

Oddly enough, I couldn't see this second block of text in your original post, but only when it was quoted it for reply. I (and others, I'm sure) would be very interested to know if any of their arrangements were written down and still exist.

 

I wish you happy hunting! :)

Posted (edited)

Well spotted Jim. Or it could be one of his pigeons!

 

I am following up both the leads you mention and will eventually report back. The brass band instruments and music are still accessible so could be linked somewhere

 

The 4th Duke of Newcastle's men had explored for coal earlier but the first sod was cut 1854 and the shaft was sunk 1861. Their was inward migration to a sleepy medieval village following the building of the turnpike , canal and the railway .So these men who look to be from their 20s to 40s would be first or second generation Shireoaks miners (boys went down the pit at 12 or even younger) and the community was already settled with a new church, chapels , bands, football teams etc etc. They were Unionised and able to mount this campaign against a lockout where owners drove wages down in hard times. The book Black Diamonds by Catherine bailey (Penguin Books) tells a fascinating story of the contrasting lives of miners and aristocratic owners mainly centred on the Fitzwilliam estate at Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham a few miles away

Edited by michael sam wild
  • 5 years later...
Posted

Samuel and Matthew Stocks were my great great uncles who were born in Shireoaks.  Both were coalminers, Matthew working at Kiveton Colliery and Samuel at Shireoaks Colliery. Samuel became the publican at the Station Hotel in Shireoaks in the latter part of his life in the 1920s, 1930s until his death in 1945. Do you know where I can get a copy of Bygone Shireoaks.

 

John Stocks

Christchurch

New Zealand

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

What a beautiful tune and melody. This is a really lovely arrangement. Any idea what year the tune was written?

Edited by nicx66

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