Robert Whinham
Robert Whinham (1814–1893) was a fiddler, composer and dancing master from Morpeth, Northumberland. Many tunes composed by him are still played, notably Remember Me a hornpipe, Whinham's Reel and The Cambo March. A book on his life and music [1] summarises most of what is known about him.
Biography
He was born in 1814, in Morpeth, the son of a market gardener, also Robert. He was the fourth of five children. Robert senior is known as the developer of a variety of gooseberry, still cultivated, known as Whinham's Industry. There are few facts known about his life, though his obituary [2] recorded that he had started learning the violin at the age of eight, at first from one William Banks, later from 'a German music master in Newcastle'. He later organised the Morpeth Brass Band, for much of his life he worked as an itinerant musician and dancing teacher, though frequently returning to Morpeth. One documented fact is that in 1858, he was the conductor of a concert of the Cambo Musical Society at Cambo, not far from Morpeth. The Cambo March was the finale of this concert. George Hepple, of Haltwhistle, in the west of Northumberland, recalled that his grandfather had been taught to stepdance by 'Old Whinham' in the 1860s . He also stated that Whinham played with the fiddle on his shoulder, not under his chin . Many tunes known to be by Whinham have placenames in their titles, suggesting he travelled over much of western and central Northumberland. His obituary recorded that he travelled 'all over England and Scotland'. It was common for dancing masters of the time to travel around a 'circuit' staying a while in a place to teach pupils and organise a dance for them. He was remembered in his family as a full-time musician, who had died in poor circumstances. He returned to Morpeth for good in 1892, entering the workhouse there, where he died of cardiac disease on December 13, 1893. He was buried in St. Mary's Churchyard there, though there is no gravestone, typically for people who died in the workhouse.
Some Compositions
Remember Me lists some 60 compositions of his, as well as variation sets by him on traditional tunes, and others attributed to him. They include most of the dance types a dancing master would need, though hornpipes are predominant. Many of his tunes are found in manuscripts belonging to different musicians in Northumberland, notably John Armstrong of Carrick and his sister Annie Snaith. In 1979, Armstrong still possessed many manuscripts of Whinham's, but subsequently he lent them to a friend and they were lost. Nonetheless the Armstrong family's remaining manuscripts were among the main sources used in the preparation of Remember Me.