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Description: | Throughout the nineteenth century much energy had been spent on attempting to reduce the cost of poor relief. By the time this song was written, parish relief, an 'outdoor' form of relief whereby the poor could remain in their homes, had dramatically reduced and the workhouse had been placed at the centre of provision. To further discourage reliance on poor relief it was decided that workhouse conditions should be worse than the lowest standards of the independent labourer. It was hoped that paupers would be deterred from a reliance on the workhouse by the harsh treatment of the inmates and the conditions within. From BBC History - Welfare. This song reflects a development of the poor law in the 1860s. During the 1840s a labour test had been developed for times when the workhouse was full, whereby the unemployed could be put to work in return for relief received in their own homes. The song describes a project devised by Newcastle Corporation in which unemployed men were put to work on rebuilding Newcastle quay. This project naturally appealed to opponents of the poor law and the workhouse system. (From Corvan; a Victorian entertainer and his songs by Keith Gregson) This song forms part of Corvan's song book, no.4. Edward Corvan, or as he was famously known, Ned was born in Liverpool and moved to Newcastle at the age of four. Following the death of his father at an early age, Corvan was raised by his widowed mother who struggled to feed the family of four on her meagre earnings. After a brief career as a sail-maker Corvan joined Billy Purvis's Victoria Theatre. Here he tried his hand at a number of things, but found most success in the performance of local and comic songs, bringing his characters to life with costume and other techniques. Ned then went on to join the Olympic where he enjoyed great success with songs such as 'Astrilly'. With this popularity he travelled the North singing his Tyneside songs, eventually settling in South Shields where he operated Corvan's Music Hall. After a number of years he gave up the establishment and returned to local singing. Corvan died on the 31st August 1865 at the age of 35.This book is the first in a series of 4 Corvan songbooks. The books were published in the mid nineteenth century by W. Stewart, who states his address as 'Head of the Side'. Stewart, however, was not a printer and a number of the songbooks published by him were printed by W.R. Walker of the Royal Arcade. There is no record of Stewart in trade directories after 1838, but clearly he was in business at the same as W.R. Walker, who was printing between 1857 and 1866, and so it must be assumed that the Corvan books were printed during this period.The books are a testament to the range of Corvan's material and a quick glance at the song titles printed on the cover of these songbooks reveals how Corvan was able to captivate his audience with the subject matter of his songs. Realising the popularity of local reference in song, Corvan's material ranged from songs of local interest, such as 'The Toon Improvement Bill', testaments to local sporting heroes as found in 'Swaggering at the races', comic songs about local characters such as Billy Purvis, and commentary on events of national and international importance such as the Royal family and foreign affairs. - A fascinating collection, these cheaply printed chapbooks would have been affordable to most of the local population and, given Corvan's success as a performer, would have been extremely popular throughout the region. ; Nineteenth century songbook by Music Hall artist Edward Corvan | Publisher: | W. Stewart Side ; Newcastle upon Tyne | Rights holder: | rights holder : Newcastle University | Subjects: | Poverty unemployment & poverty & workhouse Health And Welfare | Temporal: | start=1841;end=1860; | Source: | Folk Archive Resource North East | Identifier: | farne:N3001202 | Go to resource |
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