Thanks treewind, I am a little familiar with the old music of East Anglia, although I have never been there.

It seems reasonable to assume that if the sort of sessions you describe had lasted into the 1950s the were at least connected to the 19C if not earlier. If village life rooted in agriculture had survived the Industrial Revolution then the roots could go much further.

Satnrom, I was not aware that Billy Pigg had learned tunes fro Irish musicians. In what context did BP play his pipes as a younger man? As for James Hill (James Hill (c.1811-1853) was a British fiddler-composer and publican who lived in Newcastle and Gateshead) - clearly a much earlier period and an urban setting?

Thanks again Brian, the quote from Reg Hall, as we might expect, is priceless - that whole business of relating the music and the people to the social and work situation draws a much bigger and more informative picture.

Can we shine this kind of light on the growth and development of "Tunes Sessions" in the UK - some of which were Irish and some drawing on English tunes?

L in C#