In Search of the Lincolnshire Bagpipe

One of the wonderful things about a county with a history as long and fascinating as Lincolnshire's is that there's always something new to discover.  That was certainly the case when, around a year ago, Al Garrod of the City of Lincoln Waites band came into the museum to talk to us about one of the medieval stone carvings we have on display.  That conversation led to our new display in the museum's Orientation Hall called 'In Search of the Lincolnshire Bagpipe'.

The carved stone in question is one that many visitors will no doubt have wandered past without paying much attention to, but it is an object that is certainly worth closer examination for it opens up a wonderful world of late Medieval English music and dance. It comes from Moorby, near Horncastle, and was built into the wall of the church's vestry.  The church was demolished in 1982 and the carving saved and placed on loan at the museum, but it is unlikely that the church was the carving's original home.  Its secular imagery suggests that it came from a large house nearby, and was probably incorporated into the church wall in the 1860s when it was renovated.

The carving depicts a bagiper in a pleated tunic playing for three dancers - two women and a man.  This choreography seems strange to modern eyes, as dances nowadays are usually designed for equal numbers of participants.  A unique manuscript known as either the 'Gresley Manuscript' or 'John Bany's notebook' holds some clues to recreating their festivities.  Stored with the Derbyshire Record Office, the notebook is one man's personal notations of, among other things, music and dance steps, written sometime between 1480 and 1520 - exactly the same period as the Moorby stone.  The contents of the notebook help us to understand what music and dance may be being performed.

The display also features a costume of the modern City of Lincoln Waites band, who recreate the music and dress of the Mayor of Lincoln's civic musicians of the late 1400's, and reconstructed Medieval bagpipes, to bring the bagpiper in the Moorby carving to life.

The display is on until 3rd November, and will feature some historic music and dance based on the Moorby stone and the Gresley Manuscript.  Click here to find out more.

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