Ladies of Pleasure

I posted a couple of Bledington morris tunes recently. Here’s another one – a jig this time. I learned it from Son of Morris On, where the arrangement is based around Martin Carthy’s guitar-playing. Back in the 1980s Bernard Brown, always one of Oyster Morris’ most athletic dancers, used to dance this jig, although unfortunately I don’t think I ever had the pleasure of playing it for him to dance to.

George Butterworth collected the tune in 1912 from fiddle-player Charles Benfield.

The GlosTrad website tells us that

Charles Benfield was the main informant for the Bledington tunes, most of which were noted by Cecil Sharp at Benfield’s house at Bould (Oxon), a hamlet about a mile from Bledington (Glos). William and Nancy was also collected by George Butterworth, who is our only source for Trunkles and Ladies of Pleasure.
CJ Sharp wrote, 2 September 1909
“Ch. Benfield was fiddler to the Bledington Morris till it lapsed about 15-20 years ago. He afterwards taught some younger men but could not induce them to continue. He is an agricultural labourer and a keen morris dancer. His fiddle was bridge-less and bow-less so he half hummed and half whistled this & following 2 tunes.”

Here’s the tune from Butterworth’s MSS

Ladies of Pleasure, as played by Charles Benfield, from George Butterworth’s MSS.

 

Ladies of Pleasure

Played on C/G anglo-concertina