Jim Carroll writes; 'The last outpost of ballad singing in the UK was among the Travelling communities; the last traditional ballad singers being Irish or Scots.'
Well they certainly are/were the most visible but there seem to have been plenty of others, usually within familial rather than public gatherings. I learned 'Lord Randall' and 'The Gypsy Laddie' from parents whilst others present at recent festivals I have attended seem to have had the same experience with others of this song type. I have collected a lovely version of 'Lord Randall' from a student aged 12 at school, she got it from her grandfather, and the 'Two Ravens' from an old chap in a churchyard in South Yorkshire! Now this mightn't be a whole load of ballads but they're certainly still out there.
My point was that a lot of people seem to be taking them into personal repertoires and looking for especially obscure examples too.