My own personal view is that the whole family of songs Lord Lovell, Lady Alice, George Collins are burlesques, either of an earlier lost ballad(s) or just burlesquing the genre.

The earliest datable example I have of Giles Collins (c1780) with score is definitely burlesque and a stage piece directed to be sung 'in a crying voice' in much the later style of Grimaldi who performed many trad ballads fairly straight but the burlesque or clowning came in the greatly exaggerated style he used. Sam Cowell did similar acts even later.

Although I haven't got a copy the song was in the catalogue of Hook of Brighton and I presume this was the source of the cluster of south coast versions.

Another parody was 'Giles Scroggins Ghost' written by Charles Dibdin Junior.

I'll have another look at what Frank says about the broadsides.