The Billy Harrison String Quartet/The Kipper Family

Event information

Billy Harrison was a fiddle player from the Yorkshire Wolds village of Millington. His repertoire included unusual country dance tunes, popular songs, and local carols learnt from past generations of his family. He shared these with Jim Eldon over the course of a long friendship. The Billy Harrison String Quartet are a ‘rough-music’ string band playing the songs, tunes, and family carols of the Harrison family. Led by Jim Eldon (fiddle), with Corona Smith (2nd fiddle), Mossy Christian (viola) and Kevin Holland (cello). Expect jolly tunes and rousing carols - perfect for December.


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.