Yorkshire Almanac 2026

Unedited excerpt

If an excerpt is used in the book, it will be shorter, edited and, where applicable, translated.

BISHOPTHORPE, Wednesday, 9th September
At a ¼ past 11 we went to the York Minster with the same party as yesterday with the exception of Lord and Lady Norreys and Mrs. Vernon, who remained at home. The Minster was fuller than on the preceding day. It was Handel’s Oratorio of The Messiah. It is considered very fine, but I must say that, with the exception of a few Choruses and one or two songs, it is very heavy and tiresome. It is in 3 parts. In the 1st part Grisi sang “Rejoice greatly” most beautifully. She pronounces the English so very well, and sang the whole in such excellent style… The Hallelujah Chorus at the end of the 2nd part and another at the end of the 3rd act are the finest things besides “Rejoice greatly.” But I am not at all fond of Handel’s music, I like the present Italian school such as Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti &c., much better…

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Via John Bibby (Bibby 2022). Anyone got anything good about early Messiah performances in Yorkshire? All I have is Abraham Balme hearing it at the Piece Hall in Bradford at Christmas 1774 (Cudworth 1891).

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Tags

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• Balme, Abraham (1706-96) (2), Thornton-born, Bradford-based farmer and land-owner, mining, turnpike and banking entrepreneur W/G ·
• Bel canto (1) W/G ·
• 📌Bishopthorpe Palace (4) W/G ·
• 📌Bishopthorpe (6) W/G ·
• 📌Bradford (73) W/G ·
• Charlotte Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (1) W/G ·
• Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (1) W/G ·
• Francis Venables-Vernon-Harcourt (1) W/G ·
• Gaetano Donizetti (2) W/G ·
• George Harcourt (1) W/G ·
• Gioachino Rossini (2) W/G ·
• Giulia Grisi (1) W/G ·
• Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759) (4), German-British Baroque composer known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos W/G ·
• Italian opera (1) W/G ·
• Messiah (Handel) (4) W/G ·
• Montagu Bertie, 6th Earl of Abingdon (1) W/G ·
• Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher (1) W/G ·
• Vincenzo Bellini (2) W/G ·
• 📌York Minster (28) W/G ·
• 📌York (165) W/G ·

All tags.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

Via John Bibby (Bibby 2022). Anyone got anything good about early Messiah performances in Yorkshire? All I have is Abraham Balme hearing it at the Piece Hall in Bradford at Christmas 1774 (Cudworth 1891).

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Similar

30 September 1859: A popular village brass band contest at the Golden Lion, Loftus (near Saltburn)

18 September 1858: The Spectator is bowled over by the new Leeds Festival chorus’s singing of the Messiah – “the music text-book of the West Riding”

29 August 1570: On arriving in Yorkshire, Archbishop Grindal declares war on bloody-minded folk-Catholicism

26 December 1570: Edmund Grindal, Puritan archbishop of York, orders the removal of rood-lofts (and their superstitious images), and the erection of pulpits

12 June 1635: A prominent Puritan finds poor buildings but good beer for Archbishop Richard Neile at Bishopthorpe Palace (York)

12 April 0627: In a triumph for his Kentish wife, Edwin of Northumbria is baptised on Easter Sunday by Paulinus, in the latter’s wooden oratory on the site of York Minster

19 June 1892: The Liberal politician Viscount Morley attends morning service at York Minster

7 January 1397: On the longest of the 42 days of his carnivalesque reign, boy-bishop John de Cave of York goes on a 200-mile begging spree

5 February 1649: The Puritan John Sharp of Bradford, on military service at Hull, writes passionately to his “cousin” at York

13 June 1635: A Puritan talks to the gardener at York of the notorious miser and swindler, Sir Arthur Ingram

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

Comment

Comment

I only know about banking up potatoes, so the story of the trees is very interesting.

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