Memories of Previous Band Contests and History.
1936 WENSLEYDALE. Ella Pontefract and Marie Hartley
1958 Dalesman E Proctor writes
1959 Edgar Routh an exiled Dalesman writes
1959 H. Dinsdale from Skeeby, Richmond
In
the Decmber 1958 Dalesman E Proctor of Ingleton writes:
I
was a member of the newly reformed Ingleton Brass Band and played at Hardraw.
‘It was during the Summer of 1934. We gave a concert in aid of Leeds
Infirmary….At that time the bandstand was in very good repair.’
Black
Dyke Mills Band has performed at Hardraw Scar Band Contest.
‘About
Hardraw’ DALESMAN MAGAZINE Vol 21 Page 43/44. April 1959.
The
bandstand has no long history, built by the late Edmund Blythe, of Hawes
after the first world war an a gallant attempt to revive the renowned
brass band and choral contests of the last part of last century.
The
old music contests were started in 1880 by a committee of public spirited
people about Hawes who offered substantial prizes (for those days) to
the best brass bands and choral societies to compete in the grounds of
Hardraw Scaur, which were lent by the Earl of Wharncliffe. The contests
were usually held on the last Saturday of June.
Edgar
Routh an exiled Dalesman writing in 1959 says:
‘A
list of the committee, which I possess, is dated 1888. It then comprised:
President, Dr Richardson, of Hawes (whom, with silk hat and frock coat,
I remember); treasurer, J. W. Fryer; secretary, George Broderick; assistant
secretary, John Hesltine, junior; committee, E. Moor, F.W.W. Matthews,
W.H.M.Fawcett, B.Thompson, J.L.Metcalfe, A. Johnson, F.Lister, W.L.Metcalfe,
C.Moore, S.Moore, J. Cockburn and J. F. Fawcett.
From
the first contest in 1880 the events were well-supported by the whole
of the North of England until, on Wednesday, the 12th July,
1899, a tremendous thunderstorm, or cloudburst, ruined the old Scaur and
made a new watercourse. The adventures of Hardraw village in that flood
disaster make a separate epic, but in the Green Dragon Inn, through which
access to the Scaur is gained, they still shoe the mark in the tap- room
and on the inside door to which the flood-waters reached.
The
heyday of Hardraw Scaur, when crowds of many thousands listened to the
band and choir, has long since been over. For our ancestors the contests
were often their only holiday, and the trains brought people from the
manufacturing towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire-those who had left the
dale, or their descendants – to renew old ties with their kith and
kin. There were occasions which meant more than music, good though it
was.
So
far as I know there was no actual bandstand near the entrance to the Scaur
though the bands and choirs made music on level swards at the bottom and
the top of the Scaur.
After
the great flood the contests ended until, with the close of the first
world war, the late Edmund Blythe bought the grounds and laboured with
enthusiasm and really hard work to bring the Scaur into a safe condition
for contests and the big crowds once more. One of his joys was to build
the bandstand near the little bridge. I myself played in the stand soon
after it was built, but it was not there in the times of the ‘’historic’’
contests.
By
Mr. Blythe’s enterprise a few comparatively local bands were able
to hold contests in the early 1920’s, but his efforts, time and money
to make the revival succeed were disappointing, because a little afterwards
an amenity called radio developed and good music could be heard cheaply
in the home. Yet I have always thought that Mr. Blythe was never given
his proper due for that courageous, if unsuccessful, venture…….’
H.
Dinsdale from Skeeby, Richmond writes in the same issue:
‘I
have made some inquiries from Mr. Kit Calvert, of Hawes, and Mr. George
Metcalfe, the bandmaster of Hawes Silver Band, who has been able to enlighten
me on the last time the bandstand was used for concerts.
I
have on loan from Mr. Metcalfe some copies of the programme in use in
1925 and 1926, which would appear to be when the last full contest took
place. I am informed that only two bands competed on the last occasion,
which would probably be in 1927.
The
1925 programme shows the bandstand occupied and the adjudicators’
and committee tents erected alongside. There were spectators massed in
the grounds. The programmes are priced 3d (1.5p) in 1925 and 2d (1p) in
1926.
I
can recall attending the band contest or ‘’Grand Musical Festival,’’
in my youth, and the last occasion on which I was present was in 1923
when I, along with Mr. Albert Watson, of Wensley and Carleton, in Coverdale,
ran a shuttle service from Hawes Station to Hardraw Scaur, with Watson
Bros.’ Victory Charabanc, at a charge of 6d,for each journey. We
conveyed most of the competing bands and many spectators on that beautiful
summer day.
The
people attending the contests came from Lancashire, Yorkshire and Durham,
practically all by trains. Incidentally, four choirs competed in 1925
and there were five choirs in 1926.
WENSLEYDALE. Ella Pontefract and Marie Hartley. Published 1936.
Living
next door to the Green Dragon is a tall, lean-faced dalesman who looks
younger than his 70 years. John William Sharples, who, during his life,
has been quarryman, coalminer and farm servant, remembers Hardraw Scaur
in all its moods, for he was born in the village and has never wandered
far away.
There
was one day in the year when the valley below the Scaur was ‘’black
wi folks.’ ’That was when the band contests were held. Attracting
brass bands and choirs from all parts of the North. The musicians arrived
at Hawes railway station and usually played through the main street before
journeying on to Hardraw. Wagonettes had a busy time transporting the
bands, choirs and the hundreds of people who were drawn to Wensleydale
on the great day.
The
bands- they included such famous combinations as Black Dyke, White Temperance
and Besses o’ th’Barn- played in a covered bandstand below the
waterfall, and before the competitions they often managed a little last
minute practice in the village. The choirs sang on the banks of the stream
above the fall.Tents were erected by people selling refreshments; there
were ‘’into t’ teens o’ bobbies’’ and one
character sold Doncaster butterscotch to the crowds. The steep valley
below the Scaur gave the music a special quality.