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La Bellathea (Tune from Stanton manuscript)

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Source: RG Marriott's transcript at Morris Ring of J Winter's manuscript
Place Collected: Stanton
Date collected: 1833

Our source is is R.G. Marriott’s transcripts, which are held by the Morris Ring.

One handwritten sheet says:
“TUNES TAKEN FROM M.S. OF J. WINTER 1833 (STANTON CHURCH DOCUMENTS)
(Housed in bank safe deposit)
Loaned for a very limited period to R.G. Marriott; photographed on black and white 35 mm film, and later transcribed (in selected form) by him.
Prints are an incomplete attempt to print negatives by Geoffrey Mendham.”

The prints that we have are mostly low quality, with words very difficult to read. Most of the content is song, though I have located some of the tunes.

Sadly, as Paul told me, a Canadian student came to Stanton one day and asked the vicar if she could see the manuscript. He left her to work on it, and when he went back an hour later she and the manuscript had gone.

Information passed to us by Paul Burgess.

In the linked abc file this is tune number X:81

J Winter of Stanton
The Stanton manuscript is dated 1833 and in 1841 the only Winter living in Stanton was John Winter, an agricultural labourer. His father was also called John Winter and was a weaver who had married Mary Barrows in Stanton in 1800. John Winter was baptised in Stanton on 12 February 1804 and had at least four siblings: William baptised in 1800, Thomas baptised in 1808, Elizabeth baptised in 1810, and Charles baptised 1813 all in Stanton. John Winter married Jane Mary Simpson, who was born in Richmond, Yorkshire and they had at least six children: Ann born about 1832, Tabitha born about 1834, Frances Morris born about 1836, Jane born about 1840, Mary Ann born about 1844 and John born about 1846. They lived in Stanton where John Winter was working as a gardener in 1851 and 1861.

Notes by Carol Davies