Steve - The Ship In Distress in Penguin is one of the songs mostly in 5/4. It has a bar of 3/2 in the middle, a bar of 4/4 in the middle and goes out with three bars of 4/4. It could however easily be sung in 5/4 throughout (dropping a 1/4 note rest in the 3/2 and converting two 1/8 notes to 1/4s in most of the 4/4 bars.)
(This - and the reverse of converting 5/4 songs to 3/2 or 6/4 - is true of many of them).

The Sharp collected version referred to in the Penguin notes, from James Bishop of Priddy and "in many respects the grandest air' which he had found in that county", was in 3/2 througout.

Mick