Singing & Dancing Wherever She Goes: Life of Maud Karpeles

Written by the late Simona Pakenham

Maud Karpeles’ biography was published in 2011. A personal friend of Maud’s, Pakenham combined information from a number of sources: Maud’s unpublished autobiography, notebooks, letters and diaries, supplemented by the reminiscences of many friends.

Special offer price!

A Secret Stream

FOLKSONGS COLLECTED FROM ENGLISH GYPSIES

Selected by Nick Dow with notes by Steve Gardham

Musical notation has been transcribed by Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne

A Secret Stream is the first of two volumes of traditional songs collected from English Gypsies and is an important source book for folk singers and musicians and anybody with an interest in Romany and Traveller culture.

It brings together over a hundred mostly unpublished folksongs and tunes, carols, including songs in the Anglo-Romany tongue, collected from English Gypsies by Victorian and Edwardian collectors such as Cecil Sharp, Ella Leather, Lucy Broadwood, George Borrow and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Banjo Hire Deposit

Banjo Termly Hire

Bronze Arts Award

The Building of Cecil Sharp House

An illustrated guide by Brenda Godrich.

A world-class dedicated folk arts centre, Cecil Sharp House is at the heart of English folk. This fascinating and insightful booklet tells the story of how Cecil Sharp House came to be built.

The narrative starts with the man who founded the English Folk Dance Society and to whom the headquarters building was dedicated after his death.

With a unique history stretching back to 1930, the venue exists to serve its wide and diverse audiences and continue adding to the rich history - from bomb damage to the 60ft Ivon Hitchens mural the early years are recorded in this easy-to-read booklet. The iconic Grade II listed building is home to EFDSS and the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, England's national collection of folk music and dance.

Published EFDSS 2009

Cecil Sharp House Choir: Twice Good Morning (CD)

Featuring a selection of glorious a capella harmony arrangements of traditional songs from the British Isles and beyond, mostly arranged by its inspiring leader Sally Davies, both the concert and CD will draw on the best of the choir’s repertoire, created over the past seven years since it was established by EFDSS in 2008.

Track listing:
1. Bedlam Boys
2. Lovely on the Water
3. The Outlandish Knight
4. The False Knight on the Road
5.The Handweaver and the Factory Maid
6. Ballad of Grace Darling
7. Shallow Brown
8. Poverty Knock
9. The Oak and the Ash
10. Lovely Joan
11. The Broomdasher
12. Bushes and Briars
13. Woodford May Song
14. Jovial Broom Man

A Century of Song (CD)

A Celebration of Traditional Singers since 1898 released to mark the society's centenary in 1998.

Compiled and edited by Derek Schofield and Malcolm Taylor, who also wrote the notes on the singers and the songs

This collection especially important for any traditional folk song fans for making available the 5 tracks of phonograph recordings made in the first decade of this century. These enable us to have at least a small sample of how folk sang at the time. These tracks whilst lacking in audio quality, pay dividends by repeated listening to them.

Classic English Folk Songs

Selected and Edited by R. Vaughan Williams and A. L. Lloyd

Revised by Malcolm Douglas

First published in 1959 as The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, this ground-breaking collection reclaimed traditional song from the school and the recital room, and from the ‘evening dress’ into which it had so often been put during the first half of the twentieth century.

Special offer price!

Community Dances CD

A range of tunes to country dance to, can be used with multiple dances.

Buy as a set with the Community Dances Manual

More about the CD, including links to download retailers

2019 Re-release

Community Dances Manual

Revised Edition

Edited by Les Barclay and Ian Jones

A classic collection of English and American social folk dances and tunes. This is a 2015 reprint (with newly designed front cover, new subtitle and additional introduction) of the 2005 revised edition of this well-loved original series of dance instructions and tunes which began in 1947.

The book contains more than 130 English and American social folk dances and tunes for English country dancing, ceilidhs, barn dances and American contra dances; with dance notation and music on facing pages for ease of use. An extensive glossary provides detailed notes on formations, steps and figures for anyone not familiar with the terms used.

Buy as a set with the Community Dances CD

Community Dances Manual Set

Combination of both the book and accompanying CD.

Dance to your Daddy

Dual speed folk music for special needs activities.

Music by The Gloworms and Dan and Caroline Hollingshurst
A specialist resource produced primarily for special needs educators. The music is recorded twice at different speeds so that dancers and singers, who need a bit of thinking time, can practise at their leisure and move up a pace at a later time.

Special offer price!

Dear Companion

Compiled and edited by Mike Yates, Elaine Bradtke and Malcolm Taylor

Preface by Shirley Collins

Appalachian Traditional Songs and Singers from the Cecil Sharp Collection.

A collection of fifty-three songs and ballads from Sharp's American collection... together with biographical sketches of the singers and notes on the songs.

Special offer price!

EFDSS Fan Pack

The ideal gift for yourself or a loved one - show your swordlock with this bundle of goodies including a EFDSS tote bag, a EFDSS pencil, the silver swordlock badge and a beautiful postcard of Ivon Hitchens mural in Cecil Sharp House.

English Dance and Song Magazine

The English Folk Dance and Song Society publishes a highly regarded quarterly members’ newsletter, English Dance & Song (EDS).

EDS is the oldest folk music and dance magazine in the world. It is essential reading for anyone with a passion for folk arts. First published in 1936, EDS magazine has always prided itself on providing information, debate and inspiration.

English Traditional Dancing (Book)

Instructions for 28 dances in traditional English style for dance beginners of all ages.

Suitable for school teachers, community leaders and home learning families with little or no prior knowledge of English traditional social dancing. Designed to work with the accompanying CD.

Buy as a set with the English Traditional Dancing CD

English Traditional Dancing (CD)

11 dance tunes taken from the book of the same name

Dance List:
1. Circassian Circle (Uncle Bernard’s Polka) - Pesky
2. Galopede - John Kirkpatrick
3. Dorset Ring Dance (Roxburgh Castle and Gilderoy) - Malarkey
4. Three Meet - Pesky
5. Brighton Camp - Heterophony
6. Six Hand Reel (Farewell to Whiskey) - Heterophony
7. Marmhull Dance (Girl with the Blue Dress On and Astley’s Ride) - Pesky
8. Johnny Fetch Your Wife Back (Johnny Get Your Hair Cut) - John Kirkpatrick
9. Turn Off Six (Soldier’s Joy) - Vic Godrich, Helen Morris, Leigh Dyer
10. Cumberland Long Eight (Morpeth Rant & Soldier’s Joy) - Pesky
11. Norfolk Long Dance (The Perfect Cure & Captain Nemo) - Heterophony

Buy as a set with the English Traditional Dancing Book

English Traditional Dancing Book and CD Set

Our best-selling English folk dancing teaching resource!

Fully illustrated with diagrams and new photographs throughout, this rich resource gives clear instructions for 28 English country (ceilidh) dances.

Or you can:

Buy the English Traditional Dancing CD on its own

Buy the English Traditional Dancing Book on its own

Explore Arts Award

Guitar Hire Deposit

Guitar Termly Hire

Hardcore English Book

A Collection of 300 Tunes from English manuscript, recorded and aural sources.

The first book of English tunes to be published by EFDSS for many years, presenting an overview of the current understanding of English traditional dance music.

There is an accompanying 2-CD set of 32 of the tunes from this book.

First published 2007.

Buy as a set with the Hardcore English CD

Hardcore English CD

A selection of 32 tunes, taken from the book of the same name.

Also available as a set with the book.

Buy as a set with the Hardcore English Book

Hardcore English Set (Book and CD)

The first book of English tunes to be published by EFDSS for many years, presenting an overview of the current understanding of English traditional dance music.

Or you can:

Buy the Hardcore English CD on its own

Buy the Hardcore English Book on its own

The Histories of Morris in Britain

Edited by Michael Heaney

This book is not currently available in printed form. You can download the full book as a PDF without charge here.

The Histories of the Morris in Britain presents the proceedings from the two-day conference held at Cecil Sharp House on the 25th and 26th March 2017, organised by the Historical Dance Society and English Folk Dance and Song Society.

Morris is an enduring feature of British culture across more than six centuries, and this conference celebrated the dance form and shared the latest in morris dance research. Topics ranged from the early days of morris dance as found in the Jacobean court, to the revival and formation of women’s sides, alongside explorations of context, costume, and competing art forms.

Ivon Hitchens Mural Postcard

Flexible papercard, gloss front and matt backed - perfect for writing addresses and messages. This postcard shows the wonderful 60ft long Ivon Hitchens mural created in 1954 for our Society home Cecil Sharp House.

210 x 85mm

Also available as part of the EFDSS Fan Pack.

Limited Edition EFDSS Tote

Strictly limited edition (500) tote bag, featuring exclusive artwork by artist and illustrator Luke Drozd. The two-sided design is based on Shirley Collins’ version of Hares on the Mountain, with lyrics printed on the back:

“If all you young men were hares on the mountain, how many girls would take guns and go
hunting?”
Hares on the Mountain, Roud 329

High quality natural cotton tote with long handles and gusset.
Dimensions: 38 x 43 x 10cm

Also available as part of the EFDSS Fan Pack.

Listen to the Band

Dance music from the sound archives

Two CD set, total running time over 2.5 hours

Unlocking the treasures of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
A chronological compilation of commercial recordings covering the first two periods of English folk dancing revival from the beginnings at the start of the 20th century through the mid 1960s, which span the whole of the era of 78rpm shellac records.
Only bands and orchestras, apart from one piano solo, are included.

Disk 1
1. Rufty Tufty
2. The Butterfly
3. Brighton Camp
4. Argeers
5. Helston Furry Dance
6. Christchurch Bells
7. Galopede
8. Glorishears
9. The Triumph
10. Speed the Plough
11. The Black Nag
12. Lilli Burlero
13. Kirkby Malzeard Sword Dance
14. Maypole Dance
15. Maypole Dance
16. Maids' Morris
17. Green Sleeves and Yellow Lace
18. The Ribbon Dance
19. Soldiers Joy
20. The Dressed Ship
21. Galopede
22. Yorkshire Square Eight
23. Amarillis
24. Hunt the Squirrel
25. Sellenger's Round
26. Steamboat

Disk 2
1. Tunes For The Sleights Sword Dance, Fig. 3
2. American Square Dance Reels
3. The Bishop
4. Nancy's Fancy
5. The Queen's Jig
6. Shetland Isles Marches
7. Corn Rigs
8. The Shrewsbury Lasses
9. Jingle Bells & Johnny's Down The River
10. When Johnny Comes Marching Home
11. English Square Dance Selection
12. American-English Tunes For Square Dances
13. Mony Musk
14. Sicilian Circle
15. The Bonny Breast Knot
16. The Tempest
17. Tunes For Square Dancing
18. Dargason
19. Abram Circle Dance
20. Jack's Maggot
21. Hornpipes
22. Drops Of Brandy
23. Double Lead Through
24. Circle Waltz
25. Fast Reels For Square Dancing
26. Glover's Reel

Special offer price!

Locating Women in the Folk

Perspectives on Women’s Contributions to Folk song, Folklore, and Cultural Traditions is the publication of the conference proceedings

The conference which took place at the University of Sussex in 2018 aimed to place a spotlight on the significant role of women as scholars, singers, collectors, storytellers, dancers and educators of folk across the world.

Marrow Bones

Selected and Edited by Frank Purslow

First published in 1965, Marrow Bones drew on the existence of largely unpublished folk song collections made by Henry and Robert Hammond and Dr George Gardiner between 1904 and 1909, chiefly in Dorset and Hampshire, which are held in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House in London.

Special offer price!

May Day in England

An Introductory Bibliography

By Roy Judge

The booklet offers some introductory guidance to enquirers about May Day in finding relevant material.

An invaluable guide to the literature on May Day, from its disputed origins to its current practice. Considering the customs associated with May Day, their religious and political aspects, local celebrations, the roles taken by children, sweeps and milk-maids, and links to other folkloric topics such as the Green Man and Victorian ruralism.

Maypole Manual

Mike Ruff and Jenny Read

The Maypole Manual has full colour pictures and diagrams of 19 different dances of accessible and curriculum-relevant content. The manual also includes further information on the origins and history of maypole dancing, inclusion, links to the wider curriculum, music for musicians to play and much more.

Buy as a set with the Maypole Manual CD

Maypole Manual CD

Mike Ruff and Jenny Read

This is the accompanying 14 track CD to the Maypole Manual book. A complete full colour pictures and diagrams of 19 different dances.

Buy as a set with the Maypole Manual

The Maypole Manual Set by Mike Ruff and Jenny Read

The Maypole Manual and accompanying CD by Mike Ruff and Jenny Read has full colour pictures and diagrams of 19 different dances of accessible and curriculum-relevant content. The manual also includes further information on the origins and history of maypole dancing, inclusion, links to the wider curriculum, music for musicians to play and much more.

Or you can:
Buy the Maypole Manual CD on its own
Buy the Maypole Manual volume on its own

Melodeon Deposit

Melodeon Termly Hire

Morris Hey

By Mike Ruff

Two DVDs, CD and booklet

NYFE Payment

Old Songs, New Discoveries

Selected papers from the 2018 Folk Song Conference, held at Cecil Sharp House, London.

EFDSS Pencil

Special EFDSS Branded Pencil.

Also available as part of the EFDSS Fan Pack.

Room, Room, Ladies and Gentleman - English Mummers’ Play

Published by EFDSS in association with The Folklore Society 2002.

This is a concise introduction to this complex subject and selected texts which represent the various types of play known to have existed within England since records began.

There are also some hints on performing the plays in a school context, or anywhere, for that matter!

Southern Harvest

ENGLISH FOLK SONGS FROM THE HAMMOND AND GARDINER MANUSCRIPTS

Edited by Frank Purslow and Steve Gardham

Including the words and music for nearly 300 songs.

An omnibus volume containing The Constant Lovers and The Foggy Dew, completing the series originally edited by Frank Purslow and published by the English Folk Dance and Song Society in the late 60s and early 70s. Foreword by Martin Carthy MBE.

Southern Songster

ENGLISH FOLK SONGS FROM THE HAMMOND AND GARDINER MANUSCRIPTS

Selected by Nick Dow

Musical notation by Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne
With notes by Steve Gardham

The Hammond and Gardiner manuscripts are amongst the most important nineteenth-century collections of English folk song.

Stepping On

Paperback publication

Papers from a conference held at Cecil Sharp House, London on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November 2019, edited by Toby Bennett.

Stepping On: A conference on Stepping in Dance was organised jointly by the Historical Dance Society, English Folk Dance and Song Society, Instep Research Team and the Dance Department of the University of Roehampton.

The focus was on various forms of stepping and step dancing with connections to Britain and Ireland, with papers featuring England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, Canada and the United States. A number of dance styles were featured, including English clog, Cape Breton step dancing and stepping in social dances, and a broad range of themes was addressed including history, analysis, migration, competition, social dance, reconstruction, music and transmission.

A free PDF download is also available.

See the PDF download page for a list of the papers and speakers.

Still Growing

English Traditional Songs and Singers from the Cecil Sharp Collection

50 songs from the enormous volume of collected works of Cecil Sharp, with music and notes on the singers.

An introduction on Cecil Sharp and English Folk Music by Vic Gammon.

Published by EFDSS in association with Folk South West 2003.

Street Literature and the Circulation of Songs

Papers exploring the production, distribution and use of street literature, including broadside ballads, chapbooks and other cheap printed items.

Swordlock Badge

EFDSS logo Swordlock silver badge.

Also available as part of the EFDSS Fan Pack.

The Making of a Tradition

EAST LANCASHIRE CLOG DANCING

By Pat Tracey

Edited by Roy Tracey, Christina Tracey and Alison Cannard

The Making of a Tradition: East Lancashire Clog Dancing explores the history of clog dancing by one of its most accomplished performers, Pat Tracey.

The book is lavishly illustrated and contains the notations for many of the dances.

The Wanton Seed

ENGLISH FOLK SONGS FROM THE HAMMOND AND GARDINER MANUSCRIPTS

Originally selected and edited by Frank Purslow

Revised by Malcolm Douglas and Steve Gardham with notes by Steve Gardham

The Hammond and Gardiner manuscripts are amongst the most important nineteenth-century collections of English folk song.

Traveller's Joy

Songs of English and Scottish Travellers and Gypsies

Compiled by Mike Yates
Foreward by Norma Waterson

Traveller’s Joy is first and foremost a songbook, a collection of over fifty songs to be learned, sung, and enjoyed by the reader. The intention is to portray the singers and their music with honesty and sensitivity.

Special offer price!

Understanding Victorian Society Through Dance

Music to accompany the teaching resource

Ballroom dances, country dances, performance dances and clog dance:
The Waltz
The Spanish Dance
The Polka
The Schottische
Highland Schottische
Hart’s Lancers
Galop Finale
Pop Goes the Weasel
Four Hand Reel from Dorset
La Tempêe (The Tempest)
Sir Roger de Coverley
The Triumph
Nine Pins
Castleton Garland
Bean Setting from Headington
Helston Furry Dance
Stave Dance
Sailor’s Hornpipe
Jockey Dance
Skirt Dance
Tambourine Dance
Street Clowns 1
Street Clowns 2
Street Clowns 3
Crossing Sweepers 1
Crossing Sweepers 2
Crossing Sweepers 3
Clog 6 x 8 bar reel practice speed
Clog 6 x 8 bar reel intermediate speed
Clog 8 x 16 bar reel performance speed

Special offer price!

Vaughan Williams and Folk: 150th Anniversary Essays

Edited by Steve Roud and David Atkinson

Published by The Ballad Partners, ISBN 978-1-9161424-6-6

A selection of essays celebrating Ralph Vaughan Williams’ lifelong involvement with British folk song and music – as collector, editor, arranger and composer – many first presented at the Library Conference in 2022.

View Contents

Book cover showing RVW in later middle-age

Book cover showing RVW in later middle-age

Folk Shop

Singing & Dancing Wherever She Goes: Life of Maud Karpeles

Written by the late Simona Pakenham

Special offer price!

A Secret Stream

Selected by Nick Dow with notes by Steve Gardham

The Building of Cecil Sharp House

An illustrated guide by Brenda Godrich.

Cecil Sharp House Choir: Twice Good Morning (CD)

A Century of Song (CD)

A Celebration of Traditional Singers since 1898 released to mark the society's centenary in 1998.

Classic English Folk Songs

Selected and Edited by R. Vaughan Williams and A. L. Lloyd

Special offer price!

Community Dances CD

Community Dances Manual

Edited by Les Barclay and Ian Jones

Community Dances Manual Set

Dance to your Daddy

Dual speed folk music for special needs activities.

Special offer price!

Dear Companion

Compiled and edited by Mike Yates, Elaine Bradtke and Malcolm Taylor

Special offer price!

EFDSS Fan Pack

English Dance and Song Magazine

English Traditional Dancing (Book)

Instructions for 28 dances in traditional English style for dance beginners of all ages.

English Traditional Dancing (CD)

11 dance tunes taken from the book of the same name

English Traditional Dancing Book and CD Set

Hardcore English Book

A Collection of 300 Tunes from English manuscript, recorded and aural sources.

Hardcore English CD

Hardcore English Set (Book and CD)

The Histories of Morris in Britain

Edited by Michael Heaney

Ivon Hitchens Mural Postcard

Limited Edition EFDSS Tote

Listen to the Band

Dance music from the sound archives

Special offer price!

Locating Women in the Folk

Marrow Bones

Selected and Edited by Frank Purslow

Special offer price!

May Day in England

By Roy Judge

Maypole Manual

Mike Ruff and Jenny Read

Maypole Manual CD

Mike Ruff and Jenny Read

The Maypole Manual Set by Mike Ruff and Jenny Read

Morris Hey

By Mike Ruff

NYFE Payment

Old Songs, New Discoveries

EFDSS Pencil

Room, Room, Ladies and Gentleman - English Mummers’ Play

Published by EFDSS in association with The Folklore Society 2002.

Southern Harvest

Edited by Frank Purslow and Steve Gardham

Southern Songster

Selected by Nick Dow

Stepping On

Paperback publication

Still Growing

English Traditional Songs and Singers from the Cecil Sharp Collection

Street Literature and the Circulation of Songs

Swordlock Badge

The Making of a Tradition

By Pat Tracey

The Wanton Seed

Originally selected and edited by Frank Purslow

Traveller's Joy

Songs of English and Scottish Travellers and Gypsies

Special offer price!

Understanding Victorian Society Through Dance

Music to accompany the teaching resource

Special offer price!