A few paragraphs were devoted to Leyburn Quadrille Band in my book There was None of this Lazy Dancing! (pages 95-97). Now that further information has come to light, I have drawn together newly discovered and previously known information to give a fuller description of Leyburn Quadrille Band. Unfortunately, no photographs of the band have yet been discovered.
Many of the events at which the band played were described as balls. This term can be misleading because in the nineteenth century it was not restricted to the fashionable dance parties held by the gentry and nobility. The village dances held by ordinary country folk were often called balls, as were the entertainments arranged by the artisan, merchant, and professional classes in the towns.
The earliest mention of Leyburn Quadrille Band was in the York Herald on 4 January 1840, when it reported that a dance was held on 31 December 1839 “at the house of Mr. R. Coultman, the King’s Head and Commercial Inn, Leyburn, when a very numerous and respectable party of ladies and gentlemen attended. Dancing was kept up with great spirit until a late hour, the company evidently enjoying the highest pleasure. The Leyburn quadrille band rendered their valuable services, and it is but due to state, that their masterly style of playing merited the greatest applause.”
There was no mention in the article about when the band was founded, by whom, or of the names of its members, but we can discover the name of its leader and probable founder from an obituary in The Wensleydale Advertiser in January 1844. The obituary, written by James Dent of Leyburn, was for Willie Wrigley, who died in August 1843 in reduced circumstances. James Dent wrote: “no monument tells of the musical talent of the deceased: yet talent he possessed of no common order, and although it is sometimes not the way of the world to recognize talent in a tattered garb, yet the musical abilities of Old Willie have generally been appreciated in the little world in which he moved.”
Mention of Willie Wrigley as the leader of Leyburn Quadrille Band occurs in the following extract from his obituary: “Was there a wedding or a birth day to be kept with greater hilarity than usual – old Willie and his fiddle were sent for. Was there a feast in the neighbourhood, the youngsters must forsooth engage old Willie to play their country dances. Was there a Ball amongst the nobility, old Willie and his quadrille band were usually sent for.”
Although Willie Wrigley, whose biography can be found on pages 94-97 of my book, led and probably founded Leyburn Quadrille Band, it survived long after his death. The first reference to its continuation occurred in The York Herald on 6 July 1844, when it performed at a ball held on the evening of 3 July, at the Bolton Arms Inn, in connection with the Fourth Annual Leyburn Shawl Tea Festival. No mention of the leader of the band was made either at this event or in the report in The Wensleydale Advertiser of another ball held at the Bolton Arms on 15 November 1844. The latter report did not mention Leyburn Quadrille Band by name, but it is likely to have performed for that ball. The report makes interesting reading because it highlights the popularity of the polka, the waltz and the quadrille, all of which were dances new to England in the early part of the nineteenth century. It also highlights the importance of dancing masters, even in small settlements in remote areas: “LEYBURN. BALL AT THE BOLTON ARMS. For some weeks past, a numerous class, principally adults, have been practising the Polka, and other recent fashionable dances, under the direction of Mr. Backhouse; and on Tuesday evening last a ball took place in the Assembly Room at Mr. Ridley’s, the Bolton Arms Inn; which was well attended. Dancing commenced at eight o’clock, and was kept up with great spirit, ̶ quadrilles, waltzes, the polka, &c., following each other rapidly. The party did not break up till an early hour the following day, after having spent a most agreeable evening.”
The Wensleydale Advertiser on 7 January 1845 reported on another ball, which demonstrated that the services of Leyburn Quadrille Band were still in regular demand: “On Friday evening, the 27th of December, the annual Ball was held in the large assembly room at Mr. Fothergill’s Hotel; which was attended by a numerous and highly respectable party: dancing commenced about eight o’clock, and was kept up with great spirit until six the following morning …The famed Leyburn quadrille band were engaged for the occasion.”
Three events at which the band played were reported in The Wensleydale Advertiser, The Yorkshire Gazette, and The York Herald in the late 1840s. At a ball held at the White Swan Hotel in Middleham on 22 December 1847 to celebrate the success of the racehorse Van Tromp in the St. Leger earlier that year, “Leyburn Quadrille Band greatly enhanced the pleasures of the evening by their enlivening strains”. On 25 January 1848 at the annual Tradesman’s Assembly held at the King’s Head Inn, Leyburn, “Dancing commenced at eight o’clock, to the enlivening strains of the celebrated Leyburn Quadrille Band; when Polkas, Waltzes, Quadrilles, and other fashionable and popular dances became the order of the day, or rather night”. A Bachelors’ Ball was held at the White Swan Hotel in Middleham on 23 January 1849, at which “the celebrated Leyburn quadrille band were engaged, and acquitted themselves in their usual efficient manner”. The frequent use of words like ‘masterly’, ‘famed’ and ‘celebrated’ to describe the band attest to the high esteem in which it was held.
Several other events at which Leyburn Quadrille band played were reported in various newspapers from the mid-1850s to the late 1870s and these will have been merely the more prestigious of their many engagements during this period. At Leyburn Bachelors’ Ball held at the Bolton Arms on 18 January 1854, “Leyburn quadrille band presided, Mr. Sanderson, leader, giving every satisfaction” and at a repeat event held at the same venue on 24 January 1855, “dancing commenced at eight o’clock to the lively strains of the Leyburn quadrille band, Mr. Sanderson, leader”. Leyburn Quadrille Band played again at the Bachelors’ Ball in 1856, when it was once again held at the Bolton Arms, this time on 30 January, and was attended by “upwards of ninety, with a preponderance of gentlemen”.
It seems that William Sanderson left the band for a short while or was unavailable for some reason because it performed under Mr. Jackson’s leadership for the Leyburn Bachelors’ Ball at the Bolton Arms Hotel on 20 January 1858. However, William Sanderson had resumed the leadership by the following month when at a ball to celebrate the 21st birthday of Christopher Topham, held at Middleham on 9 February 1858, “dancing commenced about eight in the evening, and was continued with great vigour till about four the following morning, to the enlivening strains of the Leyburn quadrille band, of which Mr. Sanderson is leader”.
At the annual Leyburn Shawl Festival held on the Shawl on 31 August 1859, Leyburn Brass Band provided the musical entertainment during the day and, when the participants returned from a gentle post-prandial stroll along the Shawl, “the tea table had been removed, and the green sward under the canvas canopy was left clear for one of the most generally pleasing adjuncts of the festival – a country dance. The band struck the “Keel row”, and soon a gay troupe footed nimbly o’er the grass, until the approach of evening gave the signal to return to town. … A ball was held in the evening, in the spacious room recently added to the Commercial Hotel. It was attended by most of the ladies and gentlemen who had patronized the festival, and ‘all went merry as a marriage bell’ to the strains of the Leyburn quadrille band, until an early hour on Thursday morning, when the party broke up.”
Leyburn Quadrille Band played at a wide range of functions from aristocratic balls to village dances, although newspaper reports of the former were understandably more frequent than they were of the latter. On 4 January 1860 the band played for a dance held in Leyburn at the Agricultural and Commercial Inn. The following day, a ball was held at Bolton Hall by the daughter of Lord and Lady Bolton at which Redmire Brass Band was engaged to play, and the evening after that (6 January) Leyburn Quadrille Band played for another ball at Bolton Hall given this time by Lord and Lady Bolton’s son: “the Hon. Mr. Powlett, eldest son of the Hon. Lord and Lady Bolton, gave a ball in commemoration of his birthday, which is impending, when he will arrive at the age of 15 years. There were present all the servants of the establishment, including the grooms, gardeners, gamekeepers, and tradesmen, and a great number of gentry special invitations having been given, by Lord and Lady Bolton, graced the ball-room with their presence, and, with Miss and Mr. Powlett, were very condescending, and mingled in the dance with their servants and tradespeople, an example that was imitated by all the more wealthy part of the company. Dancing was kept up till twelve o’clock, when an excellent supper was supplied. Afterwards all adjourned to the ball-room where the dancing was resumed, and kept up till after four o’clock on Saturday morning to the enlivening strains of the Leyburn quadrille band.”
On 1 October 1860 a Volunteer Fete was held at Redmire, at which the 12th, 4th, and 2nd North Riding of Yorkshire Volunteers paraded, drilled and took part in a banquet followed by a ball. The ball was held at Elm House, the home of Captain Other, and Leyburn Quadrille Band provided the music. The festivities continued the following day when a tea was provided followed by a dance held in a tent for which Leyburn Quadrille Band once again provided the music.
On 9 January 1861 a “grand full-dress ball came off in the Town Hall, Leyburn” for which Leyburn Quadrille Band was again hired to play. The York Herald reported that the decorations for this event remained up for a fancy dress ball that was held two days later “in aid of the funds of the Fourth Company of the North York Rifle Volunteers … The Leyburn quadrille band performed in their usual masterly style, and dancing was kept up until about four the next morning.” The Richmond & Ripon Chronicle of 19 January 1861 added a few interesting snippets of information about this “Grand Fancy Ball. On Friday, the 11th instant, a most gorgeous Fancy Ball took place in the Town Hall, Leyburn, which has been recently built by Lord Bolton. … The Leyburn Quadrille Band was selected to occupy the orchestra … The programme contained twenty-three dances. … Mr. Dennison … attracted much admiration by the spirited manner in which he danced the “Triumph” with Miss Orton.”
While reporting on a “grand fashionable ball” held in Leyburn Town Hall on 21 January 1862, The Richmond and Ripon Chronicle noted: “The Leyburn Quadrille Band (the abilities of this band are so well known that we need not now call more than ordinary attention thereto) occupied the orchestra, and about ten o’clock began to discourse in dulcet strains the music of the programme, which was responded to in terpsichorean style on “the light fantastic toe” by the company. Dancing was kept up with spirit till twelve o’clock, when the gentlemen led off the ladies to partake of supper. After this interval dancing was again resumed, and continued until about four in the morning. … The programme of the ball consisted of twenty dances, nicely varied, ending with, as is usual, the time-honoured “Sir Roger de Coverley”.” A few days later on 29 January a “Tradesman and Volunteer Ball” was held at the Bolton Arms Inn, Leyburn, where “the Leyburn quadrille band occupied the orchestra, and performed with extraordinary ability”. This was followed the next evening by “the annual domestic ball given by Lord and Lady Bolton to their household … at Bolton Hall,” where Leyburn Quadrille Band “performed the music with good taste.”
A new Roman Catholic School was opened in Leyburn in 1862 and a ball was held in the new schoolroom on 25 September to mark the occasion. “The Leyburn Quadrille Band was engaged for the occasion. About sixty couples availed themselves of the evening’s pleasure, which was kept up with great spirit until the morning.” A few days later a juvenile ball was held in the same venue on 30 September and once again Leyburn Quadrille Band provided the music.
On 4 December 1862 Leyburn Quadrille Band, under its leader, William Sanderson, played for a ball to open the new Reading Room in Middleham. The description of the dance tells that it was attended by about 25 couples, that the opening dance was “an old favourite country dance, known as ‘Triumph’,” and that the dance “was concluded by that very old favourite ‘Sir Roger de Coverley’.”
On 19 March 1863, a “Grand Concert and Ball” was held in the ruins of Middleham Castle, the roofless banqueting hall of which had been covered over for a celebration of the marriage of the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) to Princess Alexandra of Denmark a few days earlier. The amateur concert was attended by more than 300 people and began with an overture played by Leyburn Quadrille Band. “Half-an-hour after the concert, commenced the ball, which was led off by W. C. Booth, Esq., and Lady Bolton, the first being a country dance, in which nearly all present joined. …The dancing was kept up with great vigour till about five the following morning, to the strains of the Leyburn Quadrille Band, terminating with the old favourite “Sir Roger de Coverley”. The principal part of the company at the concert also attended the ball, which was the largest held in the neighbourhood within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.”
Although most of their engagements were in and around Leyburn and Middleham, the band had sufficient of a reputation to receive bookings further afield, including Bedale and Richmond. For instance, on 7 April 1863 the band played for a ball held by the 8th Company (Bedale) of the North York Rifle Volunteers at the Savings Bank Room in Bedale to raise funds to improve their rifle range. The band appears to have had a close connection with the volunteers because they also played on several occasions for the Rifle Volunteers in Leyburn. Perhaps one or more members of the band were also members of the Volunteers. In addition to the instances mentioned above, the band played for “a supper and ball, with a plentiful supply of port and sherry” held by the 4th Company at Leyburn Town Hall on 21 January 1864. The York Herald reported: “The Leyburn quadrille band occupied the orchestra, and gave every satisfaction. The ball was opened by Capt. Scrope and Lady Bolton, and dancing was kept up to an early hour with unabated vigour. The party was a thoroughly mixed one, embracing all classes, from the peer to the peasant, but notwithstanding the diversity of position, education, and taste, everyone appeared to enjoy themselves.”
The next few occasions on which the band is known to have played illustrate the range of events for which they were engaged. There was a small ball held in Middleham Town Hall on 13 January 1864, which was attended by just fifteen couples. The York Herald reported on a much larger and more illustrious ball held on 31 January 1866 to celebrate the coming of age of the Hon. William Orde-Powlett, the heir to Lord Bolton: “A ball of about 300 of the gentry, clergy, professionals, and his lordship’s tenantry and tradesmen, was held in the evening at Bolton Hall. A spacious dancing saloon was built for the occasion … The Leyburn quadrille band had the honour of occupying the orchestra, and the Redmire brass band discoursed sweet music during the dinner and supper.” On 29 January 1867 Leyburn Quadrille Band performed at a military ball “given to the members of the 4th N. Y. Rifle Volunteers and their lady friends, in the Town Hall, Leyburn”. A different type of event at which the band performed, along with various amateur singers and readers, was a Penny Reading held in Leyburn Town Hall on 23 December 1867. The band also held its own events, which included a ball advertised to take place on 27 December 1867, which catered primarily for the professional classes and tradespeople. The advertisement in the Richmond & Ripon Chronicle read: “The Leyburn Quadrille Band will hold their Annual Ball in the Town Hall, Leyburn, on Friday the 27th inst. Tickets – Gentlemen, 2s. 6d.; Ladies, 1s. 6d.”
On 15 January 1868, a Grand Ball was held in Leyburn Town Hall, which was attended by more than 120 ladies and gentlemen. “Dancing commenced at half-past-9, to the enlivening strains of the Leyburn quadrille band, and was kept up till a late hour in the morning.” A Grand Masonic Ball was given in Richmond just over a month later on 24 February “by the brethren of the Lennox Lodge, in the King’s Head Assembly Rooms …which was attended by a very large and fashionable company, including the Grand Master, the Earl of Zetland. The company numbered 170, which included also non masons. … The music of the Leyburn Quadrille Band gave great satisfaction.”
A rather different engagement for the band was at an amateur dramatic performance in Leyburn over the three evenings of 18 to 20 January 1869, at which it performed musical interludes between the dramatic performances. This was followed on 22 January by the annual Grand Ball held in the Town Hall under the patronage of Lady Bolton at which the music was provided by “the celebrated Leyburn quadrille band”. Another newspaper account of the same performance stated: “The Leyburn band in attendance played with its usual good taste, under the direction of its able manager, Mr. Sanderson.” A report in The Richmond & Ripon Chronicle noted that the Leyburn Quadrille Band played for the same event in 1870, which took place on 7 January. Later that month it played for a ball and supper that took place at the White Swan and Old Commercial Inn at Middleham to celebrate the successes of the racehorse Pretender.
There was a report in The Richmond and Ripon Chronicle of a ball given by Lord and Lady Bolton for their servants on 6 January 1871 at which “the Leyburn Quadrille Band occupied the orchestra, and played an excellent selection of music”, and an account a year later of a charity ball held on 10 January 1872 at which “the Leyburn quadrille band occupied the orchestra, and was in its very best form, having at its head, Mr. Sanderson, the leader, and Mr. Hogg, the cornet player from West Hartlepool, assisting.” Thereafter, only one brief mention has been found of the band before a ten year gap. On 5 February 1877 “the Leyburn Quadrille Band, under the leadership of Mr. William Sanderson,” played for a Tradesmen’s Ball in Leyburn Town Hall. No evidence has been found to date as to whether or not the band continued performing between 1877 and 1887.
At this point, it seems appropriate to look further into who William Sanderson was, since the brief reference in 1877 is the last mention of him in connection with the band that he had led since at least 1854 and possibly since the death of Willie Wrigley in 1843. William Sanderson was born in Leyburn in 1817 or 1818, the fourth of Charles and Margery Sanderson’s five children. In 1851 his father was described as a “gardener & owner of houses”. William never married and the only official records of his life appear to be in the census records for 1851-91 and in the registration of his death and his will.
In 1851, William was a 33-year-old saddler, a trade he pursued until his retirement sometime in the 1880s. He was living with his parents on Market Square, Leyburn, together with his elder brother Thomas, a 39-year-old linen draper, his sister Margaret, who was a 37-year-old dressmaker, a younger sister called Ellen, who was described as infirm, and Margaret’s two illegitimate children, Alfred and Ellen, who were 12 and 8 respectively.
William’s father died in October 1854, his sister Margaret later that year, his brother Ralph and sister Ellen in 1857 and his mother early in 1861. Thus, the 1861 census saw the household reduced to Thomas (49), William (43), Alfred (22), who had become a carpenter and joiner, and Ellen (18). Alfred subsequently became the leader of Leyburn Brass Band.
By 1871, there was just Thomas, now described as a gardener and seedsman, and William, who was still plying his trade as a saddler, in the house on Market Square. Alfred had moved out when he married Mary Bellerby in 1867, but they remained in Leyburn for the rest of their lives. Ellen married a tailor called Thomas Groundwater in 1863 and they set up home near Leyburn cattle market. Little had changed by 1881, but Thomas died in November 1890, leaving William, who had retired by then, alone in the house. William died shortly after his brother, on 26 August 1891 at the age of 73, leaving effects worth around £220, and he was buried in Wensley churchyard.
Musically, it is not known what instrument he played, but it could well have been a violin, since it was common for quadrille bands to be led by fiddlers. If so, it is likely that Willie Wrigley taught him to play, since Willie is known to have taught violin lessons as well as leading the quadrille band and making violins. It is not known when William Sanderson retired from Leyburn Quadrille Band. He was around 60 years old when he was last known to have led them in playing for a ball, but no other records mentioning the band have been found until a newspaper article in October 1887, which mentions a different band leader.
The new incarnation of Leyburn Quadrille Band was led by John Bacon. Although not mentioned by name, he was probably at the helm on 28 June 1887, when the band played for a ball following the fete at Middleham in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee: “A grand procession was formed at the Low Market Cross, and proceeded through the town to the Castle grounds, being preceded by the Northallerton Temperance Brass Band. The Leyburn Drum and Fife Band was also in attendance. Shortly after reaching the field, athletic sports, both numerous and varied, were commenced. … At half-past two the children were regaled with an excellent tea. At four o’clock the adults sat down to a very substantial meat tea, the whole numbering above 800. … The dancing, led off by the Hon. A. C. O. Powlett and Mrs. W. Swales in the ‘Triumph’, commenced at eight o’clock to the strains of the Leyburn Quadrille Band, and continued until 12.30 on Wednesday morning.”
The first time John Bacon was mentioned by name was in a report in The Richmond and Ripon Chronicle of the third annual ball held by ‘A’ Company (Leyburn) of the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment in Leyburn Town Hall on 5 October 1887. John Bacon was a sergeant in the battalion and was one of the organisers of the event, so it is hardly surprising that “the music, which was of a high character, was supplied by the Leyburn Quadrille Band, led by Sergeant Bacon. The programme included 26 dances, but in addition several extra supper dances were given. … Dancing was commenced at nine o’clock and kept up with great spirit until 5 o’clock this morning.” On 4 December 1888 the band played for another ball held by the Yorkshire Regiment Volunteers in Leyburn Town Hall, which was attended by about 40 couples and on 18 January 1893 “Sergeant Bacon’s Leyburn Quadrille Band supplied the music” for the annual ball of the Wensleydale Volunteers held at the White Swan Hotel at Middleham.
Although many of the dances undertaken at this time by Leyburn Quadrille Band for which reports exist were in connection with the Volunteer Regiment, the band also undertook other engagements. Two such events were a ball in the Town Hall on 6 February 1891 in aid of Leyburn Shawl Improvement Fund and another held in the same venue by Leyburn Football Club on 28 December 1892. At the latter event, “over 45 couples attended and enjoyed a programme of 28 dances exclusive of supper dances. The Leyburn Quadrille Band, led by Mr. John Bacon, occupied the orchestra and played in capital style. … Dancing started at 8.30 p.m., and was kept up with spirit until 5 o’clock yesterday morning.” The following year Leyburn Football Club’s annual ball was held in the last week of December 1893. “About 53 couples were present. Dancing commenced at 8.30 p.m., and was kept up with spirit until five o’clock the next morning. The Leyburn String Band played first class music.”
It is not clear whether Leyburn String Band was Leyburn Quadrille Band under another name. If so, the names must have been interchangeable in the mid-1890s because Leyburn Quadrille Band provided the music for a dance held on Easter Monday, 26 March 1894, in aid of Leyburn Catholic School, whereas Leyburn String Band, led by James Burgoyne, provided selections of music during the intervals in an amateur dramatic performance in the Town Hall on 18 April 1894. However, this was the last time that Leyburn String Band was mentioned.
The last piece of evidence for John Bacon living in Leyburn was a report in The York Herald in 1895 that did not mention the quadrille band or the string band but stated that he was the secretary of Leyburn and District Brass Band. By 1901 he had left the area, so a brief detour into his life seems appropriate at this point.
John Thomas Bacon was born in Colchester, Essex, in 1842, the son of a stonemason. He had a varied career and moved from one part of the country to another on several occasions. By 1861, when he was 20 years old, he had been in the army long enough to have risen to the rank of sergeant in the 1st Battalion of the 11th Regiment of Foot stationed at Marchwood Magazine in Hampshire. It was in Marchwood that he met his wife Emily, whom he married in 1861. He left the army in 1870 and moved to Freshwater on the Isle of Wight, where he worked as a stonemason. By 1875, the family had moved to Leyburn, where in 1881 John Bacon was recorded as the schoolmaster of Thornborough School. He was still a schoolteacher in Leyburn ten years later and in the mid-1890s he was the secretary of Leyburn Brass Band, but sometime after 1895 he experienced a reversal of fortune. By 1901 he had become a stonemason once more and was boarding at Dawdon in County Durham, but his wife Emily and children were not with him. Emily was living in Middleham (two miles from Leyburn) and was described as a fishmonger and the head of a household comprising her son and daughter, aged 22 and 21 respectively. By 1911 John and Emily had reunited and had moved to Gateshead, where he was a lavatory attendant. John Thomas Bacon died in 1930 at the age of 88, his death being registered at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The mention of James Burgoyne as the leader of Leyburn String Band in April 1894 may mean that he succeeded John Bacon as leader of the quadrille band during 1893 or early 1894 and that Leyburn String Band was another name for Leyburn Quadrille Band. However, this is by no means certain because there is only one mention of James Burgoyne as leader of Leyburn String Band and none at all of him leading Leyburn Quadrille Band. In fact, no leader or member of Leyburn Quadrille Band is mentioned by name after the last reference to John Bacon in 1893.
James Arthur Burgoyne was born in Leeds in 1863. Having studied music in Cambridge, he arrived in Leyburn sometime before 1888, when he married Rosalind Arthure, who was born in Gayle but was living in Leyburn by 1881. They do not appear to have had any children. James Burgoyne was described in Bulmer’s Directory, published in 1890, and in the 1891 census as an organist and teacher of music living in Leyburn. He had moved to Brecon in central Wales by 1901, where he was again described as an organist and teacher of music. However, his wife was not with him. She was living with her widowed brother-in-law, Nathan Raw, at Cross Gates, Barwick-in-Elmet, near Leeds, where she appears to have been looking after his three young children and her mother. Nathan remarried in 1906 and Rosalind was no longer living with Nathan and his family in 1911. Neither she nor her husband James Arthur Burgoyne have been found in the 1911 census, so it is possible that they left the country, although if they did so Rosalind returned sometime later because she died at Burton Leonard, between Ripon and Harrogate, in 1922. No trace of James has been found since 1901, when he was in Brecon.
There were three reports of dances for which Leyburn Quadrille Band played in 1895 and 1896. The first was a ball held by Leyburn Cricket Club in the Town Hall on 7 January 1895 that was attended by more than 30 couples. This was followed in early February by “a ball in connection with Leyburn Brass Band” and on 10 January 1896 by another ball held by Leyburn Cricket Club. There is then an eleven year gap before the final newspaper article mentioning Leyburn Quadrille Band, in which it played for a wedding ball at Constable Burton Hall on 7 June 1906.
It is not known whether the band had disbanded in or shortly after 1895 and had reconvened briefly in 1906, when it played for the wedding ball, or whether it had continued through the intervening years playing at dances for which no newspaper reports have been found. It seems likely that the band finally ceased to play in or shortly after 1906, since no further evidence of its existence has come to light. Even so, a lifespan from the mid-1830s to 1906 easily eclipses all other quadrille or string bands that performed in or around the Yorkshire Dales during the nineteenth century.