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Description: | Song written on the return of Ridley and Brandling as members of Parliament for Newcastle.This song possibly refers to the Newcastle election of 1784. However, the Ridley's and Brandlings were elected together throughout the late eighteenth century and well into the early nineteenth, making it difficult to be certain. As a matter of course, the Brandlings were Tories and the Ridleys Whigs. This bi-party representation was a mutual and uncontested arrangement and continued for decades.During the late eighteenth century the election of the Newcastle members to parliament was a time of great excitement. Preceding the election there was a month of wild excitement, bell-ringing, band-playing, open public houses, canvassing, coaxing, and fighting. The mere mention of the election was enough to cause a duel involving John George Lambton, M.P. for Durham. Hundreds of election broadsides were issued throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the run up to elections, urging the public to attend the polls.Maid of the Mill, the tune to which this song was written, is an English, Country and Morris dance tune. There have been many theories as to the origins of this tune, but it is thought to be derived from a tune in William Shield's opera Rosina, written in 1783. This song is part of the John Bell Collection. ; A collection of broadsheets on various subjects, with accompanying press cuttings and manuscript notes in the hand of John Bell. | Publisher: | unknown | Rights holder: | rights holder : Newcastle University | Subjects: | Political elections & politics | Temporal: | start=1801;end=1840; | Source: | Folk Archive Resource North East | Identifier: | farne:N0111101 | Go to resource |
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