"Let's explode a few myths here - most of the famous collectors were educated 'gentlemen' who went amongst the 'plebs' to collect songs in much the same way as their peers collected fossils, butterflies or Egyptian artifacts. They were treated with suspicion and even, in some cases, hostility by the local people, to the extent that many songs/ballads were withheld from them."

I think that myths might be being piled on myths here!

If you want an up-to-date view of Sharp's relationship to his informants try Vic Gammon's excellent introduction to the equally excellent song book, 'Still growing: English Traditional Songs and Singers from the Cecil Sharp Collection' (efdss in association with Folk South West, 2003). Dr Gammon considers the written evidence and concludes, "...some of Sharp's informants would speak very warmly of him. No doubt, once over the initial shock [of being approached by a middle class folk song collector?], many people enjoyed the interest he took in them and their songs."

Much of this 'myth' that Edwardian folk song collectors were JUST callous robbers of plebs' cultural heritage comes from, what I consider to be a mischievous, biased and misleading book, Dave Harker's 'Fakesong' (Open University Press, 1985).