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Charles Benfield was the main informant for the Bledington tunes, most of which were noted by Cecil Sharp at Benfield’s house at Bould (Oxon), a hamlet about a mile from Bledington (Glos).
Glorisher
CJ Sharp wrote, 2 September 1909
“Ch. Benfield was fiddler to the Bledington Morris till it lapsed about 15-20 years ago. He afterwards taught some younger men but could not induce them to continue. He is an agricultural laborer and a keen morris dancer. His fiddle was bridge-less and bow-less so he half hummed and half whistled this & following 2 tunes.
This Glory Sher, …. “Glorisher’, was a leap-frog dance which so far I have not been able to note down with sufficient accuracy.”
11 days later Sharp met Benfield again at Stow-on-the-Wold, and noted the version published first here. So the 13 September version appears to represent Sharp’s final view.
In 1937 RK Schofield noted the tune from George Hathaway. It was little different from Benfield’s version, not surprisingly, since GH was in the “young” side for whom Benfield played. The notation is more “broken” than as noted by Sharp; this does not necessarily mean that it was played any differently. Those interested, please see RK Schofield’s ms
Note by Charles Menteith