Douglas Social encounters - UvAspinnet.humanities.uva.nl/...social_encounters.pdf · Mass observations: 1 Social encounters between folk informants and clerics in late-nineteenth-century
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Mass observations:1 Social encounters between folk informants and clerics in late-nineteenth-century Britain
Oliver A. Douglas, University of Reading
Paper prepared for ‘Clerics and the Vernacular’; Draft updated 11/11/2010
Abstract
The late-nineteenth-century saw numerous clergymen participate in the examination of vernacular forms.
While they shared the common factor of the church, their collecting practices were illustrative of a wide
range of social discourse. Such engagements were subject to disciplinary advice, which attempted to shape
the role that such individuals ought to play in folk ethnography. Ideas stemming from anthropology—
inclusive of colonial and missionary contexts—were incorporated into collecting guidelines issued by the
Folklore Society. However, despite advice suggesting that informants might resist or deceive clerical
researchers, their place as investigators was nevertheless affirmed. The fine-grained detail of encounters
between religious professionals and folk informants suggest a far more complex picture than it is possible
to convey in a single paper. As such, I propose three broad and intersecting forms that such clerical
activity may be seen to have taken: (a) clerics participating in major, centrally-orchestrated surveys, (b)
clerics contributing towards works endorsed by the Folklore Society, and (c) parson-scholars operating
independently of major Society input. This paper seeks to highlight the social agencies at play in these
different modes of encounter and to examine the degree to which the work of churchmen reflected or
contrasted with academic expectations.
Antiquarian antecedents and reformist ideology
As with so many histories of the British study of vernacular culture I begin with the part
played by the 1846 arrival of William John Thoms’ neologism ‘folk-lore’ (Merton, 1846).
Important as this episode was in the wider development of the movement, the roots of
investigations conducted by religious professionals lay in much earlier activity. Thoms’
1 Connections between the activities of nineteenth-century clerics and Mass Observation—a social research organization that operated in Britain between 1937 and the early 1950s—are undeniably limited. However, certain linkages arguably excuse the crude reference and pun. Religious professionals undertook fieldwork within their own parishes, essentially utilizing congregations as informant samples. Furthermore, Mass Observation itself was concerned with 'anthropology of ourselves' (Mass Observation Archive, 2010). As this paper argues, clerics were prominent amongst the intellectual antecedents of what has elsewhere been termed auto-anthropology (Strathern, 1987), contributing towards the honing of ethnographic field methods and a model of homeland research that reached fruition in Mass Observation.
following decade under the new title A Manual of Ethnological Enquiry being a Series of
Questions Concerning the Human Race (1851). The second volume was distributed overseas in
large numbers, reportedly being sent to numerous missionaries (Urry, 1993, 19-20).
Advice concerning the role of missionaries in colonial fieldwork was incorporated into its
successor Notes and Queries on Anthropology for the use of Travellers and Residents in Uncivilized
Lands (1874).4 Although the title underlined its application in foreign contexts, for the
second edition (1892) the reference to Uncivilised Lands was removed (Coote, 1987, 261,
Petch, 2007, 23), implying that anthropology’s hunting grounds had broadened to
reincorporate homeland enquiry. Either way, this initial volume came to have an
enduring influence on folklore scholarship.
This book was not be confused with the ‘weekly miscellany’ of the same name
launched by Thoms in 1849 (Anonymous, 1849, 2, Dorson, 1968a, 86, Simpson and
Roud, 2003, 261, Roper, 2007, 204), although his journal of collations almost certainly
inspired the title of the later book (Urry, 1972, 55). As with ‘folk-lore’, baptismal as
Thom’s brainchild was it was not intended to disseminate practical advice but to offer a
context for exchanging folkloric fragments (Simpson and Roud, 2003, 261). As the first
number stated, it was ‘a medley of all that men are doing… of the antiquary, and the
artist, the man of science, the historian, the herald, and the genealogist’ (Anonymous,
1849, 2). Markedly absent was the cleric. Nevertheless, religious professionals came to
fulfil the roles mentioned by Thoms, and ‘man of science’ captured the essence of what
anthropological folklorists aspired to be. Thoms’ Notes and Queries was therefore more
descriptive than instructive of disciplinary endeavour.
Preparations for its anthropological namesake began in 1872 (British Association
et al., 1874, iii, Urry, 1972, 46-47, Gosden, 1999, 41, Petch, 2007, 21-22), its object being
to facilitate the amateur supply of information for the ‘scientific study of anthropology at
home’ (British Association et al., 1874, iv). This emphasized the division of labour
between field collectors on the periphery and knowledge-generating gentleman-scholars
at home (Stocking, 2001, 175). Mention of ‘home’ was telling, underlining the domestic
goals of anthropology and highlighting the vitality of acquiring comparative information
from within Britain. The introductory passages stressed inaccuracies that were believed to
result from amateur contributions. In particular, travellers often appeared to be interested
4 Several alternatives were also published around this time, including volumes entitled the Admiralty Handbook and Hints to Travellers (Urry, 1972, 48). However, Notes and Queries was by far the most popular.
career in Fiji in 1863 (Stanner, 2006). Ever the perceptive observer, he was mindful of
the clerical advantage of becoming a longstanding member of the community, writing
that:
‘When a European has been living for two or three years among savages he is
sure to be fully convinced that he knows all about them; when he has been ten
years or so amongst them, if he be an observant man, he finds that he knows very
little about them, and so begins to learn.’ (Quoted in Stocking, 1995, 42).
Similar sentiments resonated in the findings of observers back home.6 The role of pastor
was such that it afforded a lengthy stay, often in a place hitherto unfamiliar, and provided
the perfect context for the embedded surveillance favoured by Fison.
Robert Henry Codrington, something of a protégé of Fison’s, was another
influential figure. This well-educated son of an Anglican clergyman was himself ordained
in 1855. He joined a Melanesian mission in 1867, attempting to remain separate from
those whom he saw as the self-serving constituents of colonialism (Stocking, 1995, 34-38,
Davidson, 2003). For Codrington like Fison time was a critical factor. As George
Stocking puts it, this was ‘not simply because it took time to learn another system of
belief, but because the passage of time helped to give one the humility that such learning
required’ (Stocking, 1995, 41). In other words, his ethnographic goals and spiritual path
were able to converge in fruitful ways. Echoing this model, clerics at home were free to
engage with their parishioners for long periods of time, unlike other professionals. For all
that Tylor and others were fearful that religious zeal might prove off-putting to potential
informants, in practice it might equally have served as a subtle foil, distracting from the
science of observation and rendering the clergyman a valid member of the community
where others remained the untrustworthy outsider.
Tylor’s concerns nevertheless fed through into the first formal guidelines produced under
the auspices of the Folklore Society. The same concerns that were being ignored on a
widespread basis overseas soon became ripe for similar disregard at home. The twenty
year hiatus between the first and second editions of Notes and Queries was punctuated by
the Folklore Society’s slow preparation and eventual publication of the Handbook of
6 Indeed, following his supervision of the British Association-inspired archaeological survey of Pembrokeshire, Edward Laws wrote: ‘I always flattered myself that I did thoroughly understand my native county, and now, alas! I find I know absolutely nothing about it’ (Laws, 1897, 75).
Folklore (1890) (Urry, 1972, 48). In this volume, Charlotte Burne repeated Tylor’s
warnings, observing that the clergy could not be relied upon to amass folklore because
people were suspicious of telling them about non-Christian beliefs. Burne argued that
other well-placed middlemen—gentlemen-farmers, lawyers, doctors, and land agents—
should be employed instead as they not only came into contact with the right people but
unlike their religious peers, were also trusted by them (Burne, 1890, 327).7 However,
clerics were eager middlemen, whose place in society also afforded them the correct
contacts. Regardless of academic rhetoric, they therefore became central players at all
levels, from academy-sanctioned contexts through to their position at the vanguard of
autonomous collecting.
Clerical contributions to centralized surveys
Clerics were enthusiastic supporters of the centralized surveys that became popular
during the final decades of the nineteenth century. Although the aforementioned British
Association Survey has been explored in greater detail elsewhere (Urry, 1984, Douglas,
2010), the degree to which religious professionals participated has not been examined.
Endorsed by the Folklore Society, this scheme resulted from the efforts of several
influential figures, including Alfred Cort Haddon and Edward William Brabrook. Whilst
Brabrook drove the idea forward, it was really Haddon’s brainchild. One of the most
significant names in anthropology and folklore at this time, he had instigated regional
surveys in Ireland that became a fieldwork model for the British Association project.
Echoing Haddon’s broad-based approach, the latter targeted systematic gathering of
information in five key areas: Physical types; current traditions and beliefs; peculiarities of
dialect; monuments and ancient culture; and historical evidence regarding race (British
Association et al., 1895).
Although the literature made no direct mention of the risks of clerical collection,
voluntary contributors were encouraged to make use of the book Notes and Queries for
anthropometric techniques (British Association et al., 1895, 2), and the Handbook of
Folklore for current beliefs (Brabrook, 1894, 648, British Association et al., 1895, 7, 17). It
soon became apparent that these comprehensive volumes were ‘too voluminous for
7 It seems incompatible with present-day stereotypes concerning estate agents and solicitors, to observe that their nineteenth-century equivalents were deemed more trustworthy in the eyes of the general populace than priests or vicars.
general use’ (Brabrook, 1898, 453), their dogmatic content quite possibly proving off-
putting. A shorter, more accessible booklet was produced which stated:
‘Valuable practical hints are given in the Handbook of Folklore, a small volume that
may be bought for half-a-crown and carried in the pocket. Confidence between
the collector and those from whom he is seeking information is the prime
necessity. Keep your notebook far in the background and beware of letting the
peasant know the object of your curiosity, or even of allowing him to see that you
are curious… Do anything to establish a feeling of friendly sympathy. Never
laugh at your friend’s superstitions—not even if he laugh at them himself; for he
will not open his heart to you if he suspect you of despising them.’ (British
Association et al., 1895, 17-18)
Aversion to the usefulness of clerics was unmentioned. Only if they purchased the more
comprehensive literature would clerics see any discouragement of their involvement. In
the shorter guidelines the notion that certain people might encourage resistance or pour
scorn on folk beliefs was couched in very general terms, perhaps because a good many
potential respondents were religious professionals and it was deemed more important to
maximise the number of possible fieldworkers.
The Survey required that correspondents propose sites deserving of study, which
were to ‘contain not less than 100 adults, the large majority of whose forefathers have
lived there so far back as can be traced (Brabrook, 1894, 621). They responded with 264
places in the first report, rising to a total of 367 the following year (Urry, 1984, 92). Many
clerics made suggestions, usually drawing upon villages within their own or neighbouring
parishes.8 Reflecting the reluctance expected of informants faced with interrogation, one
clerical respondent noted of the Highlands that:
‘…the visitor (who must of course talk Gaelic) would have to incur, besides his
hotel bills, some small outlay on whisky to induce men to talk freely and throw
8 In the first report alone, Canon Mathews and Reverend J. Wharton suggested locales in Westmorland, Canon Isaac Taylor in Yorkshire, Reverend Augustus Jessopp in Norfolk, Reverend J. O. Bevan in Hereford, Reverend C. W. Bennett in Somerset, Reverend Alexander R. Eagar in Cornwall, Reverend G. N. Godwin and Very Reverend G. W. Kitchin, Dean of Winchester, in Hampshire, Archdeacon Thomas in Radnor, Carnarvon, Denbeigh, Merioneth, and Montgomery, Reverend Iorwerth Gray Lloyd in Pembroke, Reverend Professor Ellis Edwards in Merioneth, Reverend James Macdonald in The Highlands, and Reverend Robert Hawley Clutterbuck in Derby and Hampshire (Brabrook, 1894).
off the ordinary restraint Highlanders have in the presence of strangers’
(Brabrook, 1894, 641)
Although there were no priests amongst the respondents, Roman Catholic clergymen
were involved in the Irish Survey, operations of which were kept separate. Space does
not permit lengthy discussion of the Irish works in this context.9 A lack of Catholic
involvement in England and Wales stemmed from the need for subjects to come from
families long established in their communities. This excluded the growing numbers of
Scots or Irish Catholics. In the Welsh context the emphasis was placed more firmly on
archaeology than folklore but several clerics were nevertheless involved.10
Despite initial interest, of the cleric respondents few would make meaningful
contributions. The Reverend Robert Hawley Clutterbuck mentioned Lullington,
Derbyshire, where as curate he had become interested in the history of parish families
(Brabrook, 1894, 626). He also drew attention to the Test Valley, Hampshire, where his
own parish Penton Mewsey contained a significant dataset of 274 inhabitants (Brabrook,
1894, 637).11 Reacting to acknowledgement of his suggestions he wrote directly to
Brabrook referring to survivals, witchcraft, mumming, offering to secure a costume, and
to complete some forms.12 Whether he fulfilled these promises is unclear but he certainly
went on to write an intriguing account of an initiation ritual—‘the Horning of the
Colts’—at a hiring fair at Weyhill, a site less than two miles from his own village. A
landlord described to him the details of this rowdy event that until recently had taken
place at several different inns within the parish (Clutterbuck, 1896, 140-141). The passage
was illustrated by a sketch and made mention of Clutterbuck acquiring an artefact. Both
forms of evidence—objects and drawings—had been requested in the first Survey report
(Brabrook, 1894, 648). Relations between cleric and landlord belied a degree of
uninhibited engagement with the subjects of his investigation.
Subsequent publications contained further evidence of clerical impact, inclusive
of anthropometric contributions towards the Survey. Reverend Fletcher Moss of
Didsbury, Lancashire, provided measurements and ‘other observations’ (Brabrook, 1896,
9 I have elsewhere discussed these contexts and examples in greater detail (Douglas, 2010). 10 Again, I have elsewhere discussed these contexts and examples in greater detail (Douglas, 2010). 11 Other work published following his death in 1896 also utilized a parish-based approach (Clutterbuck and Webb, 1898). 12 FLS T258, Letter, Clutterbuck to Brabrook, 27 December 1893
608), and Reverend J. Frome Wilkinson, Rector of Barley, Hertfordshire, enticed
Haddon and others to measure and photograph ‘different ranks of society’ from amongst
his parishioners:
‘Their attention was drawn… to strong historical evidence as to the continuity of
race furnished by entries in the parish registers and other local records going back
to an unusually early time, to the existence of remains of ancient culture hitherto
almost unnoticed in the county histories, and to the survival to a late period of
early forms of land cultivation in this parish’ (Brabrook, 1895, 510)
Haddon later reported that Wilkinson afforded him ‘every facility in his power, and
induced several of his parishioners to be measured’ (Haddon, 1898, 503). Clerics
therefore carried a degree of sway in fieldwork contexts.
The only salaried Survey position was filled by another cleric, the aforementioned
Walter Gregor (Brabrook, 1895, 511). Gregor was a well-known folklorist in his own
right (Porter, Buchan and Olson, 1997, Miller, 2000, Miller, 2005). His regional
gatherings of measurements, folklore, and material culture from southwest Scotland were
the greatest achievement of the entire Survey.13 Plans to extend his special regional works
were cut short by Gregor’s untimely death in 1897 (Brabrook, 1895, 511). However,
reports of work completed before this date provide information concerning the nature of
his interaction with informants. Cited by Stephen Miller, a review of an 1894 work by
Gregor described his efforts as ‘original collections from the mouths of the folk’
(Anonymous quoted in Miller, 2005, 220). His contributions comprised an impressive
733 separate items of folklore (Gregor, 1898), and a large number of measurements taken
in Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire (Gregor et al., 1898). As Miller notes, the
folklore listings contained several duplicates where items were collected in more than one
locale, meaning the actual number of items was higher still (Miller, 2005, 222).
Working parish by parish Gregor relied upon the hospitality and local knowledge of non-
working class residents, without whose help little could have been accomplished. Each
individual statement was listed according to the parish of acquisition. In several instances
his local advisors were themselves clergy. Reverend Paton of Soulseat ‘used every
exertion’ to show Gregor to the ‘parishioners whose ancestors had been for the longest
13 Recent work by Stephen Miller has provided detailed discussion and analysis of Gregor’s Survey activities and material culture interests (Miller, 2009, Miller, Forthcoming).
period in Galloway’, avoiding those whose forebears were Irish. Reverend J. Reid,
minister of Minnigaff, ‘spared no pains’ to drive him to see those ‘considered able to
help’ (Gregor, 1896, 612). These agents facilitated Gregor’s meeting with numerous folk
informants and he reported that ‘every opportunity of collecting folklore was laid hold
of, and a good deal of it, some of which will prove of interest, was gathered’ (Gregor et
al., 1898, 501). It is hard to gauge how many informants Gregor encountered or what
length of time he spent with them. On the anthropometric side he acquired
measurements from at least 116 separate ‘Galloway folk’ (Gregor et al., 1898, 501),14 and
it seems likely that he spoke directly with a good deal more to acquire over 733 items of
folklore.
Gregor’s anthropometric efforts were facilitated by various local men including
Reid once again, Reverend Cavan of Dromore Free Church, Reverend Gutteridge of
Logan Episcopalian Church, Reverend Philip of Kells Presbyterian Church,15 and
Reverend Allan of Mochrum Presbyterian Church (Gregor et al., 1898, 501).16 This
indicated engagement with ministers from different denominations, albeit they were all
Protestant. The efficacy of clergy was sufficient in the eyes of the Survey organisers that
the vacancy left by Gregor was filled by another minister, Reverend H. B. M. Reid. At the
same time they appointed Reverend Elias Owen to undertake comparable work in Wales
(Brabrook, 1898, 454).17 This whole example ran contrary to the expectation that clerics
would find informants obstructive and contradicted advice suggesting it was wise to keep
one’s scientific intentions hidden. Gregor’s own words echoed such endorsement of
clerical contributions:
‘I have only to add that nothing could exceed the kindness and courtesy with
which I was received by all, and the readiness with which all gave themselves to
be measured, and that all were much interested in the survey.’ (Gregor, 1896, 613)
This readiness was in part a reflection of a comparatively enlightened ministry. Indeed,
contrary perhaps to one’s expectations of the church, it was reported that one clergyman
who aided Gregor had remonstrated successfully against abolishing a traditional
14 82 men and 34 women. 15 Probably Reverend P. Philip. 16 Probably Reverend William Allan. 17 H. B. M. Reid made at least one comment on Gregor’s work that was based on his own observations (Gregor, 1898, 458).
Hogmanay burning barrel procession that was deemed by the authorities to be too
drunken (Gregor, 1896, 622). Furthermore, superstitions regarding the unlucky nature of
meddling with ministers, several of which were recorded by Gregor, may well have
played a minor role in the extent to which informants were agreeable to sharing beliefs
and superstitions (Gregor, 1898, 622).
Clerics and the Folklore Society
Besides the aforementioned advice of their Handbook of Folklore, the Folklore Society
offered comparatively little to either recommend or discourage the participation of
clergymen. Despite these few dispiriting words clerics nevertheless participated in the
group’s operations, contributing towards certain key projects. Motivated by educational
reform, railways, and the rapid onset of industrialization the Society sought to promote
urgent collection of folklore. Ideas circulating within the folklore movement at this time
pointed towards salvage efforts being most easily orchestrated on a regional stage, with
metropolitan rhetoric filtering down to the county and parish level (Douglas, 2010).
Nineteenth-century Britain saw a wider interest in regionalism, such sub-national scales
being vital administrative units. Ordnance Survey maps reinforced a top-down sense of
place (Smith, 2003, 83), highlighted boundaries, and curtailed continuity. Local
Government Acts of England and Wales (1888) and Scotland (1889) introduced well-
defined boroughs, and mandatory election of parish councils. In short, the parish became
more rather than less important at this time.
District-based analyses first became commonplace in eighteenth-century
antiquarian circles and by the late nineteenth century such approaches were being actively
promoted by bodies like the Society of Antiquaries (Urry, 1984, 87).18 One example was
George Payne’s collation of Kentish material culture, which was driven by a sense of
local stewardship (Payne, 1882, 3). In such contexts, lineally-defined regional spaces
formed the margins of research, this methodology playing out quite literally through
mounting interest in traditions of beating the bounds or the community-centred
approaches of Gomme and his interest in early village life (Gomme, 1883). Returning
18 The British Association had already sanctioned attempts by ‘area-district’ representatives to collate provincial artefactual datasets into local chronologies (British Association, 1888, 168). By 1892 regional archaeological surveys were so popular that John Evans championed them in his address to the Society of Antiquaries (Evans, 1892, 145).
briefly to the Survey, one contributor of potential sites in Wales noted that in districts
where there were no villages scholars should observe members of ‘the various places of
worship’ as these were seen to be ‘practically the centres of the different communities’
(Brabrook, 1894, 422). For the Folklore Society and its supporters the parish offered a
framework for collecting, analysing, and comprehending data. These ecclesiastical
structures complimented the potential fruitfulness of provincial clubs, local Society
representatives, and county committees.
In November 1889, in an attempt to encourage county-based collecting, the
president and director of the Society, Andrew Lang and Gomme respectively, printed
members’ names under headings that indicated their county—or, for Ireland, Scotland,
and Wales, country—of residence, suggesting that these individuals rekindle provincial
collecting efforts. Some amongst those listed were already well-known collectors, some
of whom were familiar clergymen who would also play a part in the British Association
project. For example, Gregor himself was singled-out for praise for ongoing works and
Owen was named in relation to North Wales (Lang and Gomme, 1889, 357, 363), later
being appointed under the British Association to undertake special work in the region
(Brabrook, 1898, 454, Hartland, 1899, 713). Although most were relative unknowns and
the exercise resulted in little action, the Society nevertheless saw definite potential in the
clergy and named a total of fifteen religious professionals in this context (Lang and
Gomme, 1889, 357-364).19 These clerics comprised over ten percent of a total
membership of 142 individual subscribers, a significant proportion.
In the context of this discussion, the most noteworthy response came from Dr Robert
Craig Maclagan, an Edinburgh-based businessman who proceeded to conduct an
epistolary Survey of West Highland Folklore (Douglas, Forthcoming, Douglas, 2010).
Although not a religious professional, in 1893 he sent circulars to numerous clergymen
and several contributed extensively to his research. These clerical agents gathered
material in their parishes and sent it to Maclagan for collation and publication through
the Society. His most productive field agents included Reverend Neil Campbell of
19 Besides Gregor and Owen in relation to Scotland and North Wales respectively, clerics named included Reverends T. Harley and E. P. Larkin [Larken] in Surrey, Reverends F. W. Jackson and C. A. Williamson in Yorkshire, Reverend Edward Bickersteth Birks in Cambridgeshire, Reverend John Frederick Watkinson Bullock in Essex, Reverends R. H. Codrington and W. R. W. Stephens in Sussex, Reverends Hilderic Friend and F. H. I. McCormick in Cumberland, Reverend W. S. Lach-Szyrma in Cornwall, Reverend T. Lloyd Phillips in Kent, and the Very Reverend Dean of Lichfield in Staffordshire (Lang and Gomme, 1889, 357-364).
coastal communities sparked an interest in vernacular culture that preceded his
involvement with the Folklore Society, which began in 1888 (Urry, 1984, 87). During
tours of the early 1880s (Douglas, 2010, 124), and research in the Aran Islands in 1891
(Haddon and Browne, 1892), he recruited priests as primary and secondary sources.
Haddon promoted his situational opportunism to Gomme, proposing that ‘drawing
room meetings on folklore’ might provide a boost to local interest. Gomme soon road-
tested this approach in a clerical context:
‘It is a good plan your drawing room meetings on folklore. Mine in Staffordshire
was impromptu and in this way. Miss Burne had taken us over to a Parsons to
lunch… After lunch we “launched” Folklore. Nobody knew anything about it,
nor cared about it. But soon one of the daughters heard of the villagers doing (a),
Mrs Daltry heard of them brewing in (b) and the Parson had heard of a “silly”
story… Then we fired away. I have sent him the Handbook and hope to make
him a convert. This seems to me to be “the method”. Let things be done by way
of conversation. Note down everything, particularly securing the locality of each
item. Then having noted the jottings of one meeting… accidentally got together,
put them into shape for the next meeting and tell them of the scientific
importance of what they had told you about.’23
Although not only oriented towards clergymen and operating with the wider Society
goals in mind, the potential of independent collectors was nevertheless emphasized.
Collection was therefore also seen as something that people could undertake in isolation
from or ignorance of the wider movement.24 The longer term interests of such
individuals—duly enlightened as to the centralised value of their labours—were
potentially to be secured through careful guidance and suitable appreciation. With the
community role of the church and the bureaucratic significance of ecclesiastical
boundaries it is unsurprising that this mechanism was first tested in a parson’s front
room. The centrality of the average cleric’s home to village and parish made them a
convenient context in which to extol the virtues of folklore studies. The Gomme
23 ACH 3058, Letter, Gomme to Haddon, 1890s 24 In his study of Yorkshire folklorists of the period John Ashton identified a series of regional amateurs who exemplified this very point, inclusive of a number of religious professionals. Whilst they appear to have been conversant with the evolutionary ideas of the time, these were not their main ‘intellectual preoccupation’ (Ashton, 1997, 22).
Ashton, J. 1997. Beyond Survivalism: Regional Folkloristics in Late-Victorian England.
Folklore, 108, 19-23.
British Association 1888. Report of the Fifty-Seventh Meeting of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science Held at Manchester in August and September 1887, London, John
Murray.
27 Like the later Mass Observation project, these were contexts in which information was favoured over collectors. More often than not the names of active fieldworkers sank into obscurity, whilst their gatherings and observations were fed into significant compendia of folkloric data.