The Armitt Family (live)/The Kipper Family (Archive film)

Event information

Gill, Samuel, Grace and Sean sing Derbyshire village carols in a tradition that their family has continued for centuries. Gill’s father Brian Armitt led the carollers in the villages of Wardlow and Foolow, when the tradition was for the inhabitants of the villages to sing through the night from door-to-door and village-to-village until the dawn rose the next day. Having grown up in Wardlow, these carols are firmly embedded in Gill’s memories of Christmas, which she has shared with her children who now promote this unique music themselves. The Armitt family are delighted to share a selection of their favourite chosen village carols, a tradition central to their Christmas experience.

The second biggest export from Norfolk after turkeys, The Kipper Family hailed from St Just-Near-Trunch where they had a lifetime supply of undiscovered folk songs. Father and son duo Henry Kipper and Sid Kipper regaled audiences with their Norfolk and good repertoire at festivals, village halls and public toilets across the North Norfolk area. Sid Kipper later went solo, building an imp ressive CV including six albums, five books, a Cycling Proficiency Certificate (Dropped Handlebars), and Grade 8 Walnut Shells. Popular entries in the Kipper Family Song Book include Arrest These Merry Gentlemen, Uncle Tom Cobbley Can’t Come, and Where Have All The Cauliflowers Gone. Expect a riotous evening - walnut shells at the ready.

Film courtesy of the Doc Rowe Archive.