Rufford Park Poachers

A traditional song that details events from 1851, although the exact origin of the song is unknown; its first evidence is a recorded version dating to 1908, as sung by Joseph Taylor. Taylor's version contained only three verses; the others were composed by Patrick O'Shaughnessy based on other known details about the event.

The song has been sung by numerous folk singers, and though it appears on none of their albums, the Longest Johns version is somewhat of a festival favourite due in part to JD's "surprise bass." The Longest Johns arrangement appears to be closely based on the Coope, Boyes, and Simpson version.

Following the release of the official video for the song on the Longest Johns YouTube channel, it was chosen as the song of the day for FolkRadio.co.uk.

### Factoids

The song tells the true story of a skirmish between a group of poachers and gamekeepers in 1851. The poachers were a group of local men facing starvation as the local industry waned and changes to the law had made hunting on private land illegal. A group of gamekeepers had been hired by the Earl of Scarborough, the local landowner, to enforce the new rules.

Historically, the size of a poaching gang averaged between five and fifteen members. However, a particularly savage encounter with the gamekeepers that left one of the poachers dead prompted the poachers to form a larger group for the next hunt, totaling over 30 men. The gamekeepers ambushed the poachers, and the ensuing skirmish resulted in several injuries and the head gamekeeper's death.

Most of the men ultimately went free due to lack of evidence, but six poachers stood trial and four were found guilty and sentenced to transportation.

D.J.V. Jones explores this case, and other themes of this song, in the article "The Poacher: A Study in Victorian Crime and Protest" (1979).

**Gorse** is a yellow-flowered shrub common to western Europe.

A **flail** is a threshing tool consisting of a wooden staff with a short heavy stick swinging from it.

## Lyrics

These lyrics are based on the version performed by the Longest Johns in their livestreams. the original lyrics can be found here.

>
> A buck or doe, believe it so
>
> A pheasant or a hare
>
> Were set on earth for every one
>
> Quite equally to share
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
> So poacher bold, as I unfold
>
> Keep up your gallant heart
>
> And think about those poachers bold
>
> That night in Rufford Park
>
>
>
> They say that forty gallant poachers
>
> They were in distress
>
> They'd often been attackéd when
>
> Their number it was less
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Among the gorse, to settle scores
>
> These forty gathered stones
>
> To make a fight for poor men's rights
>
> And break the keepers' bones
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> The keepers went with flails against
>
> The poachers and their cause
>
> So no men there again would dare
>
> Defy the rich man's laws
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> All on the ground with mortal wound
>
> Head-keeper Roberts lay
>
> He never will rise up until
>
> The final Judgment Day
>
>
>
> Of all that band who made a stand
>
> To set a net or snare
>
> The four men brought before the court
>
> Were tried for murder there
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> The judge he said, "For Roberts' death
>
> Transported you must be
>
> To serve a term of fourteen years
>
> In convict slavery."
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> A buck or doe, believe it so
>
> A pheasant or a hare
>
> Were set on earth for everyone
>
> Quite equally to share
>
>
>
> So poacher bold, your tale is told
>
> Keep up your gallant heart
>
> And think about those poachers bold
>
> That night in Rufford Park
>
>
>
>

## Recordings

#### Gig Videos

* Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival 2015
* Bie Daip - Appingedam (24 Aug 2019)
* The Three Tuns - Bristol (29 Nov 2018)
* Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival, 2018
* Shrewsbury Folk Festival (28 Aug 2021)
* Shrewsbury Folk Festival (28 Aug 2021) (Same performance as the prior link, from a different angle)

#### Full Band Streams

* The Longest Johns Impromptu Singing Stream! (17 Nov 2018)
* Christmas Party with The Longest Johns!!! (19 Dec 2018)
* The Longest Johns and Friends, April. w/Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith (30 Apr 2019)
* The Longest Johns Early Octobermas (2 Oct 2019)
* TLJ & Friends! | Natalie Holmes (27 Nov 2019)
* It's hot! Stream was a bad choice... Or was it? (24 Jun 2020) (note: audio cuts out right as The Note begins; they pick up again at the next-to-last verse)
* I Stream, You Stream, We all Scream for Live Stream (20 Jan 2021)
* All Aboard the Stream Locomotive (2 Jun 2021)
* Ex-Stream Sports (15 Feb 2022)
* Strème de Menthe (27 Jul 2022)
* Hark the Herald Angels Stream (21 Dec 2022)
* Ghost in the Mastream (30 Aug 2023)

#### Gaming Streams

* Sea of Thieves Tall Tales Marathon for Charity Part 1 (24 Jun 2020)
* Musical larceny on the big blue wet thing - 10/08/2020
* Welcome to the Shantdome! - 4/12/2020
* Virtual Pirate Concert with Krotukk - 16/01/2021

1. ↑ https://mainlynorfolk.info/joseph.taylor/songs/ruffordparkpoachers.html
2. ↑ https://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/OSLi13.html
3. ↑ https://www.worksopguardian.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/historian-highlights-famous-case-of-rufford-park-poachers-and-wants-to-find-any-descendents-3378235