Joseph Ritson was an English antiquary known for editing the first scholarly collection of Robin Hood ballads (1795). After a visit to France in 1791, he became a staunch supporter of the ideals of the French Revolution. He was also an influential vegetarianism activist. Ritson is also known for his collections of English nursery rhymes, such as "Roses Are Red" and "Little Bo-Peep", in Gammer Gurton's Garland or The Nursery Parnassus, published in London by Joseph Johnson.
Joseph Haslewood was an English writer and antiquary. He was a founder of the Roxburghe Club.
"The Keel Row" is a traditional Tyneside folk song evoking the life and work of the keelmen of Newcastle upon Tyne. A closely related song was first published in a Scottish collection of the 1770s, but may be considerably older, and it is unclear whether the tune is Scottish or English in origin.
John Bell was a printer and avid collector of ballads who played a major part in the recording of the lyrics of popular songs in the north east of England.
Rhymes of Northern Bards is a book of North East England traditional and popular song consisting of approximately 200 song lyrics on over 300 pages, published in 1812. It was reprinted in 1971 by Frank Graham, Newcastle upon Tyne with an introduction by David Harker.
Elsie Marley was an alewife in Picktree, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England. This is close to Harraton Hall, the home of the Lambton family. A song and jig tune bearing her name, popular in her lifetime, are still current locally.
William Sutton was a North East songwriter/poet of the eighteenth/nineteenth century, possibly born in Stockton.
The Bishoprick Garland is a book compiled by Cuthbert Sharp which gives historical details of people, places and events from the Bishopric of Durham, and was published in 1834.
A Beuk o' Newcassell Sangs is a pictorial book giving details of local songs, including the lyrics and in many cases, the music, and all beautifully illustrated with the author's own woodcuts. It was published in 1888. It was reprinted in 1965 by Harold Hill, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Northumbrian Minstrelsy is a book of 18th and 19th century North East of England folk songs and pipe music, intended to be a lasting historical record. The book was edited by John Stokoe and the Rev John Collingwood Bruce LL.D., F.S.A., and published by and on behalf of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1882. It was reprinted in 1965 by Folklore Associates, Hatboro, Pennsyslvania, with a foreword by A. L. Lloyd.
Gammer Gurton's Garland: or, The Nursery Parnassus, edited by the literary antiquary Joseph Ritson, is one of the earliest collections of English nursery rhymes. It was first published as a chapbook in 1784, but was three times reprinted in expanded editions during the following century, as were several unrelated children's books with similar titles. Gammer Gurton's Garland put into print for the first time some of our best-known nursery rhymes.
John William Chater (1840–1885) was a prominent 19th-century Tyneside publisher, printer and bookseller, with premises in the centre of Newcastle.
Robert Roxby was an English clerk by profession, and amateur angler, songwriter and poet. He regularly contributed to collections of poems and songs, most prolifically in The Fisher's Garland from around 1823 to 1851.
Ritson's Northern Garlands is a compilation of four previously published books on North East music. It was edited and published by Joseph Ritson in 1810.
Bishopric Garland or Durham Minstrel, Edited and published by Joseph Ritson, is a revised and corrected edition of a book on County Durham music, published in 1792.
Ritson's Northumberland Garland or Newcastle Nightingale, Edited and published by Joseph Ritson, is a revised edition of a book on Northumberland music, published in 1809.
Ritson's Yorkshire Garland, edited and published by Joseph Ritson, is a reprinted edition of a book on Yorkshire music, first published in 1788.
