Jones, Peter

Singer

Collection date:

Area: Herefordshire

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Peter Jones was not one of Sharp's singers and is only included in this website because no other biography of him exists; and also because Jones's contribution to the folk carol The Holly and the Ivy would have been appreciated by Sharp, who himself collected 7 variant tunes of the carol (see Mary Ann Clayton profile 1909). It is Roud 514.

In fact Jones's tune is similar in structure to the two variants that Sharp did collect at Ross-on-Wye workhouse, Herefordshire on 30 Aug 1921 from Oliver Price (FT4825) and Thomas Taylor (FT4831). See their profiles. Peter Jones was still of working age in Sharp's day and not a candidate for the workhouse, but 'his' tune was clearly doing the rounds. 

Peter Jones, aged 81, was recorded on a shellac recording by Maud Karpeles and Pat Shuldham-Shaw singing a now-popular variant tune of The Holly and the Ivy on 18 August 1952. The ref within Pat Shuldham- Shaw's archive at the VWML is PS/9/1/2. Peter Jones's tune has been used by many contemporary singers including John Kirkpatrick, Andy Turner in the 'Folk Song a Week' series etc. 

Peter Jones was born in 1871 Apr-June qr in Linton, 4 miles east of Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. He was the third of eight children of Benjamin Jones, agricultural labourer, and his wife Eliza. He and his older brother Allen were both agricultural labourers, aged 24 and 19, listed as boarders (i.e. left home) in the 1891 census at Linton. In January 1900 he married Hannah Oakley and by the 1911 census had moved to nearby Bromsash village with their two children Gertrude and Godfrey. Peter was still listed as an agricultural labourer working at Eccleswall Farm. He died in January 1953, aged 81, five months after he had been recorded.