The Manuscript Collection

Sabine Baring-Gould's intention in collecting the folk songs of Devon and Cornwall was not to pin them, like butterflies, into the museum case of a printed text. His desire was to hear them sung and enjoyed by as many people as possible, particularly by children who would keep tradition alive. The articles he wrote and the books he published were done with this in mind. Early on in his collecting days he also started to arrange performances of his songs, initially in concerts but, increasingly, as staged performances with costumes and a plot that joined the songs together. In doing this he knew that the songs could not be performed exactly as he had collected them. Victorian audiences were not attuned to unaccompanied singing. If he was to be successful in popularising the songs they had to be matched to the tastes of the listeners. This meant that piano accompaniments were obligatory. He also had to tone down some of the more 'unsuitable' songs. He wrote:

"Of course, it is only some, and they are not very numerous among the popular lyrics, that are objectionable, and the singers have no thought that they are offending ears polite, when they mention in their songs and ballads matters not generally talked about, and when they call a spade "a spade" and not "an agricultural implement employed by gardeners."

Less understandably, Baring-Gould sometimes edited on the grounds of personal taste and his feeling of what the singer might have sung if they hadn't omitted a verse.

Baring-Gould's gift to posterity is that he had the foresight to make fair copies of the songs he collected and to ensure that one of these copies was given to Plymouth Library, together with the rough notes of tunes taken down in the field by his collaborators Bussell and Sheppard. These were the only manuscripts that researchers had to work with up until 1992 when it was discovered that Baring-Gould's personal fair copy of the songs had also survived with his books and other papers in Killerton House near Exeter where his personal library had been moved in the 1970s. This started a period of exploration with the help and encouragement of Baring-Gould's great-granddaughter, Merriol Almond and with the assistance of a number of other enthusiasts. The manuscripts and other material now known about include the following:

Other Baring-Gould Manuscript Collections

Other locations have collections Baring-Gould manuscripts or street literature which are of interest, including:

• The Houghton Library at Harvard University (USA) has a collection of letters and songs sent by Baring-Gould to Francis Child. This collection has been included in those presented on the 'Take Six' website.
• The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House, London has letters sent by Baring-Gould to Cecil Sharp and to Lucy Broadwood
• The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, has a volume of broadside ballads that was once the property of Baring-Gould
• The greater part of Baring-Gould's broadside ballad collection is in the British Library, Kings Cross, London

While these are the folk song manuscripts that are known about and are available (though with some restrictions) to researchers it is possible that other material will come to light as the search goes on. I live in hope!