Kinchin, Robert

Singer

Collection date: Aug 1909

Area: Warwickshire

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Robert Kinchin at Ilmington: age 63, 1 song ‘The Keeper’ FT2319 on 23 August 1909: Sharp collected a total of 6 versions of this song in England, including one from Sam Bennett of Ilmington in Jan 1909. Its chorus ‘Hey down, ho down, derry derry down, among the leaves so green O’ appeared in the Novello school series. Robert Kinchin said that he learned this song from his ‘old Dad’, who was Charles Robert Kinchin, originally from Plymouth in Devon (according to 1851 census). He was an agricultural labourer who had married an Ilmington girl Ann Sandles. Robert was their only child.

Robert Kinchin was born c1846 and married Elizabeth Wells (widow, nee Robbins) in Ilmington on 12/10/1871. She already had 2 little girls and she and Robert had 3 more children together. Robert was an agricultural labourer all his life in the village. Elizabeth died in 1895 and Robert lived on till April qr 1926 (Shipston 6d 919 age 81).