Huxtable, William

Singer

Collection date: Jan 1906

Area: Somerset - West

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William Huxtable at Taunton (1841-1916): age 65, 2 songs on 15 Jan 1906: William Huxtable was a West Somerset man and is placed in that district, even though Sharp met him in Taunton where William was temporarily residing. Sharp had already collected the words of the 'Lover’s Tasks' song aka 'Scarborough Fair' (FW826) from William's daughter Bessie Huxtable in Minehead but he needed William's tune! The completed song was published in Folk Songs from Somerset vol3 (click vwml link). As well as singing 'Lover's Tasks', William also sang the ‘Girt Boobee’ (FT785), a comical dialect song:

William Huxtable was born in 1841 in Timberscombe, a village 5 miles south of Minehead. His father William was a carpenter and William Jr left home to try his luck as a wheelwright in Bristol in the 1861 census. On 9/5/1867 he married Jane Pugsley from Cutcombe and they soon moved to Roadwater on Exmoor to bring up 3 children. William was living as widower in Roadwater in 1901 (ref RG13/2263 f126 p16) with his youngest son Albert and his wife. But by 1911 William had moved to Taunton to live with his oldest son Harry. He was 69 by then but still helping his son in the carpentry trade. He resided at 13 Kingston Road, Rowbarton in north Taunton. William probably died June 1916 Taunton 5c 380.