Brass Bands Archive

The Brass Bands Archive (BBA) records over a century of brass band history in Britain and internationally. The collection includes a vast array of material relating to several aspects of brass band history; including material recording the relationship between banding and industry; records relating to the history of brass band contests; photographs, uniforms, scrapbooks and other ephemera relating to a number of bands and banding individuals; a wealth of brass band publications; and an extensive collection of sheet music.

There are over 9,000 sets of paper sheet music including manuscripts and typescripts of original arrangements as well as popular songs, themes from television and films, and what is believed to be the only full collection of music as set works at the British Open Championships, the world’s longest continuously running music competition; in excess of 5,500 brass band journals which provide an invaluable history of brass bands in the UK as well as a social history of the period; more than 1,000 vinyl records; over 180 textile stand banners; six original uniforms including a first purpose-made performing jacket from the award-winning Black Dyke Mills band; approximately 80 trophies, medals and commemorative items including the Silver Challenge cup, sponsored by Sir Oswald Moseley to promote his New Party (later subsumed into the British Union of Fascists); 13 boxes of photographs; 10 boxes of books including a book of remembrance for bandspeople who died in the First World War; 19 boxes of contest programmes; and four instruments, including an unusual echo cornet which created a muted effect believed to have been owned by the well-known brass band player Harry Mortimer.

The Brass Bands Archive was born out of one family’s personal collection of brass band material. Bandsman Walter Ainscough, inspired by his uncle’s passion for collecting programmes and other material from the British Open Brass Band Championship, began his own collection of banding ephemera, which he stored in his garage. The collection was formally established in the 1970s as the National Brass Band Archive. Bandsmen Alan Marsh and Walter Ainscough took responsibility for managing and caring for the collection. In 2018 the lease on the premises in which the archive was stored expired; at which point, the archive’s trustees triggered a clause in the archive’s constitution which transferred sole ownership of the collection to Brass Bands England.

The National Brass Band Archive was originally separated into an music library and archive collection. The music collection is maintained in a separate series in the Brass Bands Archive arrangement. The rest of the material was arranged by professional archivists employed by Brass Bands England. In the original arrangement, material such as contest programmes, books and trophies were catalogued to item level. However, materials such as photographs weren't catalogued to the same level of detail. Archivists have worked to provide more detail, to item level where possible, to these sections of the collection. The archive material has been rearranged based on the context of the material; such as material relating to contests; relating to banding history; or relating to individual bands and bandsmen.

The Brass Bands Archive is broken down into the following sections:

BBA/PB - Publications
BBA/CM - Contest Material
BBA/AV - Archive and Heritage Materials
BBA/MK - Marketing Materials
BBA/P - Photographs
BBA/RE - Audio-Visual Recordings
BBA/SC - Sheet Music

More information on the contents and arrangement of each section can be found in the corresponding catalogue entries.

A number of additional donations have been made to the archive since ownership of the archive was transferred to Brass Bands England, including sheet music, programmes, publications and research papers. Some but not all of these donations have been catalogued in the relevant series.

DISCLAIMER: Some offensive language is found in the collection, particularly in some of the titles of pieces in the sheet music collection. Some of this language has been repeated in the catalogue in cases where this is part of a song title, so as not to prevent these pieces being located if searched for by users. The University of Huddersfield, collector and owners of the archive do not endorse the use of this language, and makes this material accessible with the aim to highlight and deconstruct prejudices.

Slaithwaite Brass Band Archive. There are also scores and recordings for Brass Bands in the British Music Collection.

Brass bands developed in the early 19th century, emerging from the popularity of temperance bands, local village bands and military bands. These bands were already in operation across Britain, utilising an array of eclectic instruments, but the period of the Industrial Revolution saw a number of changes that inspired the development of the brass band.

The industrial revolution instigated massive changes across society which vastly altered Britain?s social landscape as rural communities moved to new industrial areas, leading to the development of a large working class population. This created demand for new past-times which would act as both a hobby and a way to build new communities.

Soldiers returning from the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 also returned to civilian life, bringing with them music traditions from the military and a desire to continue banding. From this emerged trends which remain a part of brass banding today, such as military marches forming part of band repertoires, and banding uniforms.

These drastic social changes occurred simultaneously to technological advancements which led to the development and popularisation of brass instruments. Innovations in industry saw the development of the piston valve, as well as increases in raw materials which meant instruments could be made more cheaply. Early bands played arrangements which were based on popular, military and classical compositions, before compositions produced specifically for brass bands were produced.

Companies quickly identified the value of brass bands to working class communities. Companies sought to occupy workers, to improve conditions but also to deter radicalism. These companies and employers provided financial support and sponsorship which allowed bands to achieve high standards of playing and organisation. Workplace bands became a familiar sight, particularly in mines and factories.

By the end of the Industrial Revolution brass bands had become an established part of British society, and by the final years of the Victorian era into the 20th Century, brass bands were massively popular. Estimates suggest well over 10,000 bands were active in Britain the period. Brass Bands developed in Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and elsewhere.

Banding grew through the introduction of contests. The British Open Brass Band Championships were established in 1853, hosted by the owner of Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, John Jennison. The Open continued to be held at Belle Vue annually until the 1982 when Belle Vue was sold. the National Brass Band Championships were first held in 1900; hosted at the Crystal Palace where, with the exception of 1914 ? 1919, they were hosted until 1936 when the palace was destroyed in a fire.

The rise in contesting also led to an increase impacted music composition. Percy Fletcher?s Labour and Love was the first piece composed to be used as a test piece in 1913. This paved the way for such famous classics as Holst?s A Moorside Suite and Elgar?s The Severn Suite which were both commissioned by John Henry Iles for the National Brass Band Championships.

The 20th Century brought challenges to the banding community. The Great War saw the introduction of conscription, and a resulting decline in population and resources. Whilst banding continued, many bands were forced indoors and attracted smaller audiences, becoming less visible in the community. This led to a decline in banding.

The closure of coal mines and rising unemployment under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s led to the demise of many colliery and industry sponsored bands. These changes forced bands to seek new means of support through community support and fundraising. Through the 20th century the brass band community remained resilient and have continued to this day as a part of British life and music heritage.

Brass banding remained popular to modern day, with the rise of university and youth bands bringing in a generation of new players. Community and village bands remain popular, and regional and national contests have continued to display high standards of playing. Brass band music continues to be produced, commissioned for contest, but also from grassroots composers. Today there are still over 1,000 brass bands and 30,000 players in the UK alone.

The BBA is the largest archive in the UK dedicated to preserving brass band heritage and making it accessible to the public. The collection has grown with the donation of music and other ephemera from brass bands and players across the UK.

The BBA holds great significance to the brass banding sector by documenting the evolution of brass band music. The archive shines a light on the people who contributed to the development of brass banding, including composers, arrangers, conductors, publishers, sponsors, and competing and non-competing bands. The archive also holds significance to those interested in social, cultural, military and political histories. Founded in the mines, mills and factories of Britain?s industrial centres, brass bands have been central to working class communities since the 19th century. The BBA records the development of bands from different sectors of industry, and the sponsorship of bands by companies, recording ways that the working class interacted with their employers. Many scores and sets of parts are stamped by the band that purchased the music, recording changes in sponsorship. Through the collection, we can understand the impact of the world wars on the brass banding sector, through preservation of military band compositions and records of military composers, as well as recording band member shortages during the war years.

Brass Bands England (BBE) gained custodianship of the National Brass Band Archive in 2018 who renamed it The Brass Bands Archive (BBA) in 2021. Originally the collection of one family?s brass band material, it became formally established in the 1970s, housed above a funeral parlour in Wigan and curated by two well-known brass band players ? Walter Ainscough and Alan Marsh. In 2021, BBE were awarded Arts Council England's Cultural Recovery Funding in 2021 which enabled them to begin work on re-packaging, arranging and cataloguing the archive through the employment of project archivists and the support of volunteers. The BBA is deposited at Heritage Quay who manage the access of the archive and, from August 2022, will process new additions to the BBA.

More information can be found at: https://www.bbe.org.uk/what-we-do/the-brass-bands-archive