Sarah Graves Oral History

Early Chelmsford Folk Club experience

The catalogue records Sarah Graves recalling attending Chelmsford Folk Club from around age 14 or 15, including seeing Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, and later singing herself.

Local folk and Morris scene

The interview discusses Chelmsford Morris, its founder Gary Davis, the ceilidh band Lumps of Plum Pudding, concertina playing, pub sessions and singers' clubs.

Running the club

Later sections cover Sarah's period running Chelmsford Folk Club, including the DJ Discos room, dancers, Seven Straw Braids, Blackmore, audience size, finances, trust with the audience and booking acts.

Why the club closed

The catalogue records her discussion of being overworked and closing the club in the late 1980s, alongside her views on the availability of performers, the decline of folk clubs and the changing commercial folk scene.

Martin Carthy — 17 October 1982

The interview recalls Sarah seeing Martin Carthy at Chelmsford Folk Club. A separate surviving Jim Etheridge recording is catalogued at SA 30/6/425/1, featuring Martin Carthy with a detailed programme description.

Open SA 30/6/425/1 · Folk Club Performances

Mick and Sarah Graves — 18 July 1982

A surviving Jim Etheridge catalogue record names Mick and Sarah Graves with Geoff and Penny Harris on SA 30/6/402/1. This is a direct connection between the oral-history subject and a surviving club recording.

Open SA 30/6/402/1 · Folk Club Network

Chelmsford Morris — 7 November 1982

The catalogue for SA 30/6/428/1 records Chelmsford Morris celebrating its tenth anniversary at the club. Sarah's interview separately discusses her involvement with Chelmsford Morris.

Open SA 30/6/428/1

Strong contextual evidence

This is an oral-history source created in 1999 and catalogued by the Record Office. It is valuable for understanding how a participant remembered and described the folk scene and the running of the club.

Not a substitute for the catalogue

The interview should not be used to silently turn recollections into exact event records. Where a specific surviving recording or catalogue entry exists, the site keeps that record separate and links the two.

Further source available

The catalogue notes a handwritten transcript under SA 30/7/1/19/3. The catalogue record also notes that the digital interview is not simply open for unrestricted download and gives the Record Office as the access point.