The social context of the hurdy-gurdy in England, 1700–1900

A musical instrument is not just an object made to sound; rather, it functions within a social context that imparts meaning to its status and sound. This paper uses material from digitized English newspapers, satirical sketches, paintings and documents of the period to set out the social context for the hurdy-gurdy in England in 1700–1900. Hurdy-gurdies have strings that are sounded by a disc that is turned by a crank held in the player’s right hand. Some strings are drones whereas others are depressed by keys played by left-hand fingers. Hurdy-gurdies differ from mechanical barrel organs (sometimes also called hurdy-gurdies). Between 1700 and 1900, the hurdy-gurdy was partly an instrument of streets and other open spaces, and mainly appealed to those in the lower socio-economic classes. It was played by itinerant French and Italian children and adults, but also by English people. The names of 43 English players have been discovered. Across England, hurdy-gurdy players feature in reports of crimes, accidents, fairs, sporting gatherings and parades. Hurdy-gurdy players were important to public-house culture because they provided music for singing and dancing, and brought custom to the publican and tips for players. In contrast, the upper and middle classes heard the hurdy-gurdy played at concerts and masquerades in fashionable London gardens and theatres. Porcelain figurines of romanticized, peasant hurdy-gurdy players, manufactured at all the famous English potteries, were valued for their sentimental and erotic associations. In England, in 1700–1900, people of all ages and from all regions and social classes would have known about and heard the hurdy-gurdy.