Anne Geddes Gilchrist OBE FSA[1] (8 December 1863 – 24 July 1954)[2][3] was a British folk song collector.[4][5] Although less well-known than her London-based counterparts, her expertise was acknowledged by Cecil Sharp, Lucy Broadwood, and John Masefield.[4][6]
Anne Geddes Gilchrist
O.B.E., F.S.A
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Born | 8 December 1863
Manchester, England
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Died | 24 July 1954 |
Occupation | Folk song collector |
Anne Geddes Gilchrist was born in Manchester, to Scottish parents.[4] She had a musical upbringing and was related to Rev Neil Livingston, who compiled a psalter.[4] After meeting Sabine Baring-Gould she became involved with folk music and joined the editorial board of the Folk-Song Society in 1906.[4][7] She had an unusually good memory for hymn tunes, one of her areas of expertise.[4] Gilchrist is a neglected figure because she did not write any books.[4] Instead she contributed many scholarly articles to the Journal of the Folk-Song Society.[8]
In the very first edition of the Journal of the Folk-Song Society she wrote an article on the song Long Lankin. She reports that a woman in Northumberland used to frighten children by shouting "There's Long Lankin". Gilchrist collected songs from Scotland and the north-west of England.[4] This was particularly valuable, as few folk-song collections had been made from that part of England. Following the discovery of a medieval sculpted stone in Cumberland, she was admitted to the Society of Antiquaries in 1935, at the age of 70.[9][10] She was awarded the OBE in 1948 for her services to folk song and dance.[11] Her last scholarly article was written at the age of 79. Her papers are lodged in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.[11]