The History of Killamarsh Silver Band
Killamarsh is a small Town on the Yorkshire/Derbyshire border, in the north of England with a population of 9000 and is a former coal mining village only 7 miles from the major industrial city of Sheffield. There are no longer any working mines and most people now commute into Chesterfield, Sheffield or Rotherham for work. The village has existed for a thousand years and was mentioned in the Doomsday Book as Chinamaresc (village by the Marsh).
Killamarsh
Silver Band was formed in 1887 by a local
Church Minister, Father Metcalf, who came to the village from Clay
Cross in 1887
and almost immediately brought a Mr. Burnham to Killamarsh to be his
gardener. Mr.
Burnham, as well as a player, was also the conductor for over 60 years.
Killamarsh Silver Band was an amalgamation of two rival Bands in the
village,
one being Killamarsh
Old Band, formed during the 1890's. For many years the band was the
main form of entertainment and hobby for the local village. At its Peak
it
provided an outlet for many amateur musicians and won prizes in
competitions
around the country.
From then until the mid 1920's all was well and the band competed in local competitions against the many other bands in the area. At that time, every village had a band, and the larger villages had several. Most of the bands either were attached to an industry (e.g. coal mine), or had many miners in the band as the whole of South Yorkshire, North East Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire was renowned for the number of pits which existed.
Killamarsh Silver Band was reasonably successful
until 1926 when they almost disbanded as a result of the General and
Coalminers
strikes. As many of the players were miners, there was a great deal of
acrimony
between those miners on strike and the "scabs" who continued to work.
Committee minutes at the time reported verbal and physical violence and
the two
factions ignoring each other in rehearsals. How the musical director
coped is
unknown, but eventually peace reigned and the band became successful
again,
winning local, regional and national competitions. The most prestigious
were
those at Crystal Palace (before the fire) and Belle Vue, Manchester.
The Second World War took its toll and the band
began
to fade in the early 50's so by 1960, the band was down to
approximately 10
players and going nowhere. An influx of young players during the latter
part of
the 1960's, a change of musical director and a change in philosophy
changed the
bands fortunes, and by 1985 they had 35 members and were very active in
the
local area. The change in fortunes is attributed to a decision to stop
competing
and concentrate upon entertaining, playing mainly concerts, fayres and
fetes.
The Band today
The current band is made up of both male and female players with an age range of 10 years to 75 years and most of them live in Killamarsh or the many villages around the area. They are all amateur musicians who play for the love of it and it costs them money in subscriptions and for other expenses such as the cost of travel and accommodation for our regular tours in England and the Continent. The band rehearse at St Giles Church Hall, Sheepcote Road, Killamarsh on Wednesdays at 7.30pm to 9.00pm, and Sundays 5.00pm to 6.45pm. We have approximately 40 members of various standards of playing, some who play for competition bands as well, and are always happy to welcome new players or those who fancy dropping in for a blow!
The Band is totally self-supporting and receives no money from any outside body. All its finances come from its members and their playing efforts at the various engagements that we perform at during the year. In recent years we have received 2 lottery grants totalling around £43,000, much of which has been used to buy new instruments.
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Contact Us:
Anyone interested in playing for, or hiring Killamarsh Silver Band can contact Francis Hargate:
Telephone: (0114)
248 4898.
e-mail: