Vaughan Williams Memorial Library

Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
David Castor (dcastor) · Public domain · source
Name	Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
Established	1930s
Location	Cecil Sharp House, London, England
Type	Archive, Research Library
Collection size	Folk music, folk dance, folk song collections
Director	R. F. ???

Vaughan Williams Memorial Library is the principal research library and archive for the English Folk Dance and Song Society located at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, London. The library preserves and provides access to primary sources and secondary literature on folk music, folk dance, song collecting, and related vernacular traditions from England, Britain, Ireland, and the wider world. It supports scholarship, performance practice, and community arts through collections, catalogues, digitisation, and public programming.

History

The library was founded as a memorial to composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and developed through the activities of the English Folk Dance Society and the Folk-Song Society after their 1932 merger into the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Early curators worked with collectors such as Cecil Sharp, Lucy Broadwood, Sabine Baring-Gould, Frank Kidson, Charlotte Greig and Percy Grainger to gather manuscripts, songbooks, and field recordings. During the 20th century the institution expanded under influence from figures like Ewan MacColl, Alfred Deller, Kate Lee and Lucy Broadwood's contemporaries, responding to scholarly trends from folklore studies to revival movements tied to venues such as Cecil Sharp House and festivals including Sidmouth Folk Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival.

Collections

The collections encompass manuscripts, personal papers, printed collections, broadsides, and sound recordings from collectors including Cecil Sharp, Sabine Baring-Gould, Lucy Broadwood, Frank Kidson, Percy Grainger, Ewan MacColl, A. L. Lloyd, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Alfred Deller, Peter Kennedy and James Madison Carpenter. Holdings feature printed sources such as chapbooks associated with Thomas Percy-era collecting and broadside series tied to publishers like John Pitts and Robert Catnach. Archive strengths include regional collections for Northumberland, Cornwall, Devon, Yorkshire and East Anglia as well as Irish material linked to Francis James Child and transnational items connected to collectors who worked in Canada, Australia, United States and the Caribbean. The sound archive contains wax cylinders, acetate discs, and magnetic tapes documenting fieldwork by Alan Lomax, Peter Kennedy, Cecil Sharp and others. The library also holds research files from societies such as the Folklore Society and documentation from performance groups like The Watersons and Fairport Convention.

Services and Catalogues

The library provides reference services for researchers from institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Sheffield, Goldsmiths, University of London and Royal Holloway. Its catalogues include card catalogues, specialist indexes, and online metadata compliant with standards used by British Library and regional archives like Merseyside Maritime Museum. Staff assist with provenance research, rights enquiries for recordings under collection names such as Topic Records and Folkways Records, and supports digitisation priorities established with funders like the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England.

Digital Projects and Archives

Major digital initiatives have made manuscripts and recordings accessible via searchable databases used by scholars affiliated with Institute of Historical Research and practitioners linked to English Folk Dance and Song Society branches. Projects have repurposed collections for platforms promoted by British Library collaborations and engaged international partners such as Library of Congress and Smithsonian Folkways. Digitisation includes work on the Roud Folk Song Index and integration with indexes developed by researchers like Steve Roud and archives curated by Folklore Society members. The library has preserved born-digital collections alongside migrated legacy formats from donors including Peter Kennedy and Alan Lomax.

Events, Outreach and Education

The library programmes workshops, seminars and exhibitions in collaboration with performance venues and academic departments including Royal Academy of Music, Goldsmiths, University of Leeds and festival organisers such as Sidmouth Folk Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival. Educational outreach targets schools through partners like Heritage Lottery Fund supported initiatives, engages community groups including The Morris Ring and Sword Dance teams, and hosts public talks featuring researchers connected to Folklore Society, English Folk Dance and Song Society and scholars who study figures like Ralph Vaughan Williams and Cecil Sharp.

Governance and Funding

Governance is provided by a trustee board drawn from the English Folk Dance and Song Society membership and advisers from institutions such as British Library, University of Oxford and regional museums. Funding sources have included grants from Arts Council England, awards from the Heritage Lottery Fund, income from publications linked to Topic Records and donations from private collectors and foundations associated with figures like Ewan MacColl and A. L. Lloyd.

Notable Acquisitions and Donors

Significant acquisitions and donors include the papers and transcriptions of Cecil Sharp, the field recordings of Alan Lomax and Peter Kennedy, the manuscript collections of Sabine Baring-Gould and the correspondence of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Other notable gifts have come from performers and collectors such as The Watersons, A. L. Lloyd, Ewan MacColl and estates connected to Percy Grainger and Lucy Broadwood.

Category:Archives in London Category:Libraries in Camden