Did your village, town or community once have its own brass band?
I am carrying out research in the history of brass bands in local
communities, and would like to ask if you know of any information about any
such extinct bands in your area.
The late 18th and early 19th centuries were the "golden age" for these bands
numbering, it is said, up to 40,000 distinct bands at their peak. Many of
these bands were associated with local industries, often being a "works"
band. Others provided a musical focus for many small towns and villages in
the days before the gramophone and the wireless. Today, in contrast, only
some 1,500 or so are left active in the UK.
Sadly many of the bands left little in the way of information about their
existence, and what does exist is widely scattered with individuals, local
archives and national collections.
Part of my research is to identify these lost bands, to collect together
material to provide a central database of information – containing a mixture
of primary information as well as references to material held elsewhere
(e.g. in local archives).
Any information you can provide would be gratefully received. Whether actual
information or pictures of any bands, or pointers to resources, or sources
for further investigation. Even knowing that a particular band existed is
significant!
Currently much of the information I have collected is available online, as a
freely available resource, at http://www.ibew.co.uk - in various locations,
for example, in the Reference section under "Extinct Bands" or "Vintage
Pictures".
With best wishes for your continuing researches in local history,
Yours,
Gavin Holman
http://www.ibew.co.uk
The Internet Bandsman's Everything Within
|