ADD: Arscott of Tetcott

Subject: Arscott of Tetcott = lecture 9 Se-t 2021
From: Felipa
Date: 12 Aug 21 - 10:21 AM

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/black-john-and-the-pencarrow-hunt-in-cornish-ballads-drmerv-davey-zoom-tickets-152872169775
tickets £6.82 - £11.04

The UnNatural History of Cornwall Lecture Series - the story of the Pencarrow Hunt and Black John
Thursday, 9 September 2021. 20:00 – 21:30 BST

"The Unnatural History of Cornwall - curated by Dr.Amy Hale brings stories of the weird and wonderful from Cornwall to a wider audience, with an emphasis on Cornish voices from the past and the present.

"Traditional ballads and the tunes that go with them can be quite separate entities that connect and part company as they travel through time. There is a sense in which both carry the stories and interpretations of the people and communities with which they engage. Indeed, these stories and meanings will often tell us more about these people and their social milieu than the origins of the tradition. During the course of its travels the story of the Pencarrow Hunt and Black John has connected with some interesting characters and provides the perfect study for an 'unnatural history'.

"The origins of the story are satisfyingly obscure. Black John was manservant, master of the hounds and court jester for Lord Arscott and there are several historical candidates for both characters in 17th and 18th century Cornwall, but none quite match the story. It seems to have become a ballad through the mischievous pen of Robert Stephen Hawker, Cornwall’s (and probably the world’s) first hippy as he mused on the cliff tops of North Cornwall in his scarlet cloak, seaman’s boots and wacky baccy. It went on to encounter the romanticism of Folk Song collector Sabine Baring Gould and the contrasting world views of Cecil Sharp and his English folk song society and Henry Jenner’s Celto Cornish revival. In the 21st century it returned to its mystic roots as the lament for the Beast of Bodmin. "

Subject: RE: ADD: Arscott of Tetcott
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Sep 15 - 03:52 PM

Ha, I notice the mention of Poundstock in the verses. Poundstock is my parish!

Subject: RE: ADD: Arscott of Tetcott
From: GUEST,Neardura
Date: 20 Sep 15 - 03:07 PM

There are a number of different versions of this song.
Basically they all probably come from one original version.
Verses vary from one version to another and the chorus varies also.

Subject: RE: ADD: Arscott of Tetcott
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 22 Feb 15 - 07:13 AM

Jim Causley has this on his 'Fruits of the Earth' CD
Arscott of Tescott
Al

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: GUEST,doc.tom (18 Feb 2015)
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 06:38 PM

Baring Gould version is on the EFDSS Full English website, of course. As I recall, SB-G amended the ending using the local legend of the ride over the Dazard cliffs. The song certainly went into the tradition whether it was Hawker's or not (rather like Newbolt's 'Devon & Somerset Staghounds' did!) - my mate John Barnett worked on the Tetcott estate for a few years in the early 1970s and 'The Hunting of Arscott of Tetcott' was known and sung amongst the estate workers even that late.

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: GUEST,Sergio (18 Feb 2015)
Date: 21 Feb 15 - 06:37 PM

A wee bit late

N9 2 THE HUNTING OF ARSCOTT OF TETCOTT

l

In the month of November, in the year fifty -two,
Three jolly Fox-hunters, all Sons of the Blue,
They rode from Pencdrrow, not fearing- a wet coat,
To take their diversion with Arscott of Tetcott.

Sing- fol-de-rol, lol-de-rol, la-de, heigh-ho!

Sing fol-de-rol, lol-de-rol, la-de, heigh-ho!

2

The day- light was dawning, right radiant the morn,
When Arscott of Tetcott he winded his horn;
He blew such a flourish, so loud in the hall,
The rafters re-sounded, and danced to the call.
Sing fol-de-rol, &c:

3
In the kitchen the servants, in kennel the hounds,
In the stable the horses were roused by the sounds,
On Black -Bird in saddle sat Arscott, "To day
I will show you good sport, lads, Hark! follow, away!"
Sing fol-de-rol, *c:

4

They tried in the coppice, from Becket to Thorn,
There were Ringwood and Rally, and Princess and Sccrn;
Then out bounded Reynard, away they all went,
With the wind in their tails, on a beautiful scent.
Sing- fol-de-rol, <£c:

5
"Hark,Vulcan!"said Arscott, "The best of good hounds!
Heigh Venus!" he shouted, "How nimbly she bounds!
And nothing re-echoes so sweet in the valley,
As the music of Rattler, of Fill -pot, and Rally."
Sing fol-de-rol, <£c:

6
They hunted o'er fallow, o'er field and on moor,
And never a hound, man or horse would give o'er.
Sly Reynard kept distance for many a mile,
And no one dismounted for gate or for stile.
Sing fol-de-rol, *c:

7
"How far do you make it?" said Simon, the Son,
"The day that's declining will shortly be done."
"We'll follow till Doom's day," quoth Arscott. Before
They hear the Atlantic with menacing roar.
Sing fol-de-rol, *c:

8
Thro' Whitstone and Poundstock, St. Gennys they run,
As a fireball, red, in the sea set the sun.
Then out on Penkenner— a leap, and they go,
Full five hundred feet to the ocean be -low.
Sing fol-de-rol, &c-.

9

When the full moon is shining as clear as the day, -
John Arscott still hunteth the country, they say;
You may see him on Black -Bird, and hear, in full cry
The pack from Pencarrow to Dazard go by.
Sing fol-de-rol, &c:

10
When the tempest is howling, his horn you may hear,
And the bay of his hounds in their headlong career;
For Arscott of Tetcott loves hunting so well,
That he breaks for the pastime from Heaven— or Hell.
Sing- fol-de-rol, *c:

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: Hawker
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 06:08 PM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: Hawker
Date: 01 Feb 01 - 06:06 PM

Sorcha, Thanks, I am from Cornwall, am not familiar with the name of place Harleigh, there is a place called Hatherleigh, just over the border in Devon, not that far from where Baring Gould lived. Knowing the excellence of SBG's handwriting, it may have been misconstrued.....

We in our village in Whitstone Cornwall are purported to have had one of his source singers - a Thomas Darke - or was it Dart? He specifically states Whitstone Cornwall, but then links this chap also to a village called Holcombe Burnell, which is the next village to Whitestone, Near Exeter, Devon. (50 miles away).

Ho Hum....

The song Arscot of Tetcott in Baring Gould's collection differs slightly to the Poem attributed to Rev Robert Stephen Hawker of Morwenstowe, Cornwall.

Anybody else got anything to add Re A of T? Thanks, Hawks.

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: Sorcha
Date: 30 Jan 01 - 01:51 AM

Well, I found your refernce to Barring-Gould, and the song appears to have originated in Cornwall, Harleigh to be exact, but that is all I found. No lyrics or tune, sorry. Someone else? Someone from Cornwall?

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: Sorcha
Date: 30 Jan 01 - 01:40 AM

Absolutely. Memory can always be clouded, mine is often but I'll go look.

Subject: RE: Arscott of Tetcott
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Jan 01 - 01:05 AM

refresh

Subject: Arscott of Tetcott
From: GUEST,Lucy Burrow
Date: 27 Jan 01 - 03:08 PM

My husband heard a song about Arscot of Tetcott many years ago on the radio, he taped some of it but it got lost in the mists of time. I looked it up on the Baring Gould archive, this version's words have a diferent ending to that which he remembers. The tune is different too, The tune of the song Bartholomew fair was used (incorrectly?) was it a recording or live? can anybody shed light on it? has anybody got words / music? Can 25 years memory be clouded?