18 July 1982
SA 30/6/402/1 — Chelmsford Folk Club, with Mick and Sarah Graves and Geoff and Penny Harris. The catalogue identifies this as tape 2 of 2.
Evidence and provenance
Folk Club Source Trail
A source-by-source trail showing where the current Chelmsford Folk Club material comes from and what each source actually establishes. This page is designed to make the research chain visible rather than blending catalogue records, published research and broader collection context into one undifferentiated list.
Evidence rule: a catalogue record establishes that a particular archive item is described and preserved; a published Record Office article can add interpretation or identify particular performances; a collection guide provides wider context. None of these should automatically be treated as a complete gig list.
Catalogue records
17 October 1982
SA 30/6/425/1 — tape 2 of 2, introduced by Colin Cater and featuring Martin Carthy. The catalogue gives a detailed list of pieces across the two halves.
7 November 1982
SA 30/6/428/1 — tape 1 of 2, with floor singers introduced by Mick Graves, Annie Harding singing “Reynardine”, and Chelmsford Morris opening the second half with three dances.
3 March 1985
SA 30/6/653/1 — named floor singers and performers, including Simon Ritchie and “Bobbie?”; the catalogue notes that the recording ends abruptly.
20 April 1986
SA 30/6/736/1 — singers' night part one, with Residents' Band music, named singers, Seven Straw Braid dances and Phil Heath-Coleman's tunes.
Published Record Office research
Folk in Essex: Part Three
This research article connects specific Chelmsford recordings to named performances including “The March Hare”, “Reynardine”, the East Anglian Dulcimers material and Seven Straw Braid at the club.
Sound and Video Archive
The Record Office highlights the 20 April 1986 Seven Straw Braid recording and identifies Jill Palmer-Swift introducing Chelmsford Assembly.
Sources on Folk Music
The collection guide explains the wider Jim Etheridge recording practice: almost every Chelmsford Folk Club between 1978 and 1986, often the whole evening, usually on two cassettes.
What the trail lets us say
Strongest
A named archive reference can be tied directly to its surviving catalogue description. Where the description names a song, performer or dance, that detail can be retained as catalogue evidence.
Contextual
Published Record Office research can explain why a particular recording matters and connect it with the wider Essex folk movement, while remaining distinct from the catalogue wording.
Still unresolved
The source trail does not turn partial recordings into complete bills. It also does not resolve uncertainties that the archive itself leaves open, such as the question mark after “Bobbie?”.
Continue exploring
Folk Club Collection — the main recording-evidence index.
Folk Club Network — people and groups connected to the surviving evidence.
Folk Club Performances — named songs, sets, dances and programme details.
Archive Questions — unresolved points elsewhere in the wider archive.