# Ritson's Bishopric Garland or Durham Minstrel 1792

Bishopric Garland or Durham Minstrel, Edited and published by Joseph Ritson, is a revised and corrected edition of a book on County Durham music, published in 1792.

## Details

Bishopric Garland or Durham Minstrel 1792 (or to give it its full title – "The Bishopric Garland or Durham Minstrel being a choice collection of excellent songs relating to the above county – Full of agreeable Variety, and pleasant Mirth. [Edited by the late Joseph Ritson, Esq.] ---Stockton. Printed by R. Christopher . MDCCLXXXIV ---Licensed and entered according to Order. --- A New Edition, corrected. Newcastle: Printed by Hall and Elliot. MDCCXCII") is a book of Geordie folk song consisting of approximately 70 pages with 20 works, published in 1792.
The original edition was published in 1784, this edition appeared in 1792 in a slightly corrected and expanded form, and a further reprint was published in 1809.
Other books in Ritson's Garland series were The Yorkshire Garland, The Northumberland Garland, and The North-Country Chorister. A compilation of the whole series, entitled The Northern Garland was published in 1810.
The "Garland" series were important, not only as important document in their own right, but as one of the main sources of similar successor publications such as John Bell's Rhymes of Northern Bards and Bruce and Stokoe's Northumbrian Minstrelsy.
A set of original documents are held in The Robinson Library of Newcastle University

## The publication

The front cover of the book was as thus :-
THE BISHOPRIC GARLANDS OR DURHAM MINSTREL BEING A CHOICE COLLECTION OF EXCELLENT SONGS RELATING TO THE ABOVE COUNTY Full of agreeable Variety, and pleasant Mirth.
[EDITED BY THE LATE JOSEPH RITSON, ESQ.]
– - – - – - - STOCKTON PRINTED BY R. CHRISTOPHER.
MDCCLXXXIV Licensed and entered according to Order – - – - – - - A NEW EDITION, CORRECTED.
NEWCASTLE:
PRINTED BY HALL AND ELLIOT.
MDCCXCII

## Contents

are as below :-
| | title | songwriter | tune | comments | notes |
| cover | Bishoprick Garland or Durham Minstrel | | | | |
| | Contents | | | | |
| 1 | Durham Garland – (The), in four parts | | | | Song I |
| 11 | Barnardcastle Tragedy – (The) | | Constant Anthony | | Song II |
| 11 | The true story of the wheedling servant | John Atkinson | | | |
| 15 | Stockton's Commendation (number one) – an old song | | Sir John Fenwick's the flower amang them | | Song III |
| 18 | New Song, in praise of Stockton, for 1764 – (A) | William Sutton | | | Song IV |
| 20 | Stockton's Commendation (number two) or New way of Stockton's Commendation – (The) | Benjamin Pye L.L.D. Archdeacon of Durham | to the old tune | see Archdeacon of Durham | Song V |
| 23 | Stockton's Commendation, A New song | | | | Song VI |
| 26 | Hare-skin – (The) | Geo. Knight, Shoemaker | Have you heard of a frolicsome ditty | | Song VII |
| 30 | Limbo | Geo. Knight, Shoemaker | On a time I was great, now little I'm grown | | Song VIII |
| 33 | Launching of the Strickland – (The) | Geo. Knight, Shoemaker | Robin Hood and the Tanner | | Song IX |
| 35 | Hark to Winchester A new song called) or The Yorkshire Volunteer's farewell to the good folks of Stockton | | Push about the Jorum | | Song X |
| 35 | note of Herbert Stockhore | Herbert Stockhore, the pretend author | | | |
| 39 | Sedgefield Frolic – (The) | | | | Song XI |
| 43 | Pleasures of Sunderland – (The) | | | | Song XII |
| 45 | Frolicsome olds Women of Sunderland – (The), or the disappointed young maidens | | They'll marry, tho' threescore and ten | | Song XIII |
| 47 | New Song made on Alice Marley – (A) | | | an alewife at ******, near Chester | Song IV (numbered incorrectly) |
| 47 | She had been called Elsie in the original edition | Alice Marley | | (meaning Picktree, Chester-le-Street) | |
| 49 | New Song in praise of the Durham Militia – (A) | | The Lillies of France | | Song XV |
| 52 | Lass of Cockerton – (The) | | Low down in the Broom | | Song XVI |
| 54 | Rookhope Ryde | | | A Durham border song, composed 1569 – this song not in the 1st edition | Song XVII |
| 54 | comment on | Rookhope Burn | | | |
| 54 | Northumberland betrayed by Douglas | a ballad | | | |
| 55 | comment on | Thirwall or Thirlitwall, near Bewcastle-dale | | | |
| 56 | Dinner time usually 11:00 in those days | short comment | | | |
| 57 | comment on | The two earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland | | | |
| 58 | this continued | The two earls and the battle of 1570 | | | |
| 58 | some dialect | short comment | | | |
| 58 | date of St Nicholas' day | short comment | | | |
| 59 | comment on | Eastgate | | | |
| 59 | comment on | Dry-Rig, Smale-Burns or Hanging-Well | | | |
| 59 | the warrior's clothing | short comment | | | |
| 61 | a missing line | short comment | | | |
| 64 | Lamentation on the death of Sir Robert de Nevill, Lord of Raby, in 1282 | | | this song not in the 1st edition | Song XVIII |
| 64 | comment on | Robert de Nevill | | | |
| 64 | FINIS | | | | |