I did say some seven years ago that I would add some information about The Westmorland Music Festival, but I can't now find my notes. However the article in the Rural History journal by John Francmanis about the Festival, and Frank Kidson's role in it, is well worth reading. Rather absurdly, from today's point of view, the singers in the Folk Song Competition were judged only on unpublished songs - how on earth singers were meant to know whether or not their songs had appeared in print is beyond me - but the Folk Song Society were deliberately looking for new material.

So far as I'm aware the Westmorland Music Festival, founded by Mary Wakefield, still continues on a biennial basis, but I don't think there is any folk song element.

Matthew