{{infobox england county | name

Norfolk | image | map | status Ceremonial and Non-metropolitan county | origin | region East of England | arearank Ranked 5th | area_km2 5371 | adminarearank Ranked 5th | adminhq Norwich | iso GB-NFK | ons 33 | nuts3 UKH13 | poprank Ranked | popestdate | pop | density_km2 | adminpoprank Ranked | ethnicity 98.5% white | council 200px|Arms of Norfolk County CouncilArms of Norfolk County Council with supportersNorfolk County Councilhttp://www.norfolk.gov.uk/ | exec | mps Richard Bacon (C) Henry Bellingham (C) Elizabeth Truss (C) Chloe Smith (C) Norman Lamb (LD) Brandon Lewis (C) George Freeman (C) Simon Wright (LD) | subdivmap | subdivs # Norwich # South Norfolk # Great Yarmouth # Broadland # North Norfolk # King's Lynn and West Norfolk # Breckland }}

Norfolk () is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county town is Norwich. Norfolk is the fifth largest ceremonial county in England, with an area of 5,371 km² (2,074 sq mi).

Of the 34 non-metropolitan English counties, Norfolk is the seventh most populous, with a population of 850,800 (mid 2008). However, as a largely rural county it has a low population density, 155 people per square kilometre (or 401 per square mile). Norfolk has about one-thirtieth the population density of Central London, the tenth lowest density county in the country, with 38% of the county’s population living in the three major built up areas of Norwich (259,100), Great Yarmouth (71,700) and King's Lynn (43,100). The Broads, a well known network of rivers and lakes, is located towards the county's east coast, bordering Suffolk. The area has the status of a National Park and is protected by the Broads Authority. Historical sites, such as those in the centre of Norwich, also contribute to tourism.

History

Norfolk was settled in pre-Roman times, with camps along the higher land in the west where flints could be quarried. A Brythonic tribe, the Iceni, inhabited the county from the first century BC, to the end of the first century (AD). The Iceni revolted against the Roman invasion in 47 AD, and again in 60 AD led by Boudica. The crushing of the second rebellion opened the county to the Romans. During the Roman era in Norfolk roads and ports were constructed throughout the county and farming took place.

Situated on the east coast, Norfolk was vulnerable to invasions from Scandinavia and northern Europe, and forts were built to defend against the Angles and Saxons. By the 5th century the Angles, after whom East Anglia and England itself are named, had established control of the region and later became the "north folk" and the "south folk", hence, "Norfolk" and "Suffolk". Norfolk, and several adjacent areas, became the kingdom of East Anglia, later merging with Mercia and then Wessex. The influence of the Early English settlers can be seen in the many place names ending in "-thorpe", and "-ham", as well as "-ton" or "-don" for Celtic place names, In the 9th century the region again came under attack, this time from Vikings who killed the king, Edmund the Martyr. Again, local place names, such as those ending "-by" or "-thwaite", bear testimony to Viking settlement. In the centuries before the Norman Conquest the wetlands of the east of the county began to be converted to farmland, and settlements grew in these areas. Migration into East Anglia must have been high, as by the time of the Conquest and Domesday Book survey, it was one of the most densely populated parts of the British Isles.

During the high and late Middle Ages the county developed arable agriculture and woollen industries. Norfolk's prosperity at that time is evident from the county's large number of mediaeval churches: of an original total of over one thousand, 659 survive, more than in the whole of the rest of Great Britain. The economy was in decline by the time of the Black Death, which dramatically reduced the population in 1349; suffice to say that the current population has yet to equal the population before that time. Over one-third of the population of Norwich died during a plague epidemic in 1579. By the 16th century Norwich had grown to become the second largest city in England, but in 1665 the Great Plague again killed around one third of the population. During the English Civil War Norfolk was largely Parliamentarian. The economy and agriculture of the region declined somewhat, and during the industrial revolution Norfolk developed little industry except in Norwich and was a late addition to the railway network.

In the 20th century the county developed a role in aviation. The first development in airfields came with the First World War; there was then a massive expansion during the Second World War with the growth of the Royal Air Force and the influx of the American USAAF 8th Air Force which operated from many Norfolk Airfields. During the Second World War agriculture rapidly intensified, and has remained very intensive since, with the establishment of large fields for cereal and oil seed rape growing. Norfolk's low-lying land and easily eroded cliffs, many of which are chalk and clay, make it vulnerable to the sea, the most recent major event being the North Sea flood of 1953.

The low-lying section of coast between Kelling and Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk is currently managed by the Environment Agency to protect the Broads from sea flooding. Management policy for the North Norfolk coastline is described in the North Norfolk Shoreline Management Plan which was published in 2006 but has yet to be accepted by the local authorities. The Shoreline Management Plan states that the stretch of coast will be protected for at least another 50 years, but that in the face of sea level rise and post-glacial lowering of land levels in the South East, there is an urgent need for further research to inform future management decisions, including the possibility that the sea defences may have to be realigned to a more sustainable position. Natural England have contributed some research into the impacts on the environment of various realignment options. The draft report of their research was leaked to the press, who created great anxiety by reporting that Natural England plan to abandon a large section of the Norfolk Broads, villages and farmland to the sea to save the rest of the Norfolk coastline from the impact of climate change.

Economy and industry

In 1998 Norfolk had a Gross Domestic Product of £9,319 million, making it 1.5% of England's economy and 1.25% of the United Kingdom's economy. The GDP per head was £11,825, compared to £13,635 for East Anglia, £12,845 for England and £12,438 for the United Kingdom. In 1999–2000 the county had an unemployment rate of 5.6%, compared to 5.8% for England and 6.0% for the UK.

Much of Norfolk's fairly flat and fertile land has been drained and converted to arable land. Chief arable crops are sugar beet, wheat, barley (for brewing) and oil seed rape. Over 20% of employment in the county is in the agriculture and food industries.

Well-known companies in Norfolk are Aviva (formerly Norwich Union), Colman's (part of Unilever) and Bernard Matthews Farms. The Construction Industry Training Board is based on the former airfield of RAF Bircham Newton. The BBC East region is centred on Norwich, although it covers an area as far west as Milton Keynes.

To help local industry in Norwich, Norfolk, the local council offered a wireless internet service but this has now been withdrawn following the end of the funding period.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Norfolk has a completely comprehensive state education system, with secondary school age from 11 to 16 or in some schools with sixth forms, 18 years old. In many of the rural areas, there is no nearby sixth form and so Sixth form colleges are found in larger towns. There are twelve independent, or private schools, including Gresham's School in Holt in the north of the county, Thetford Grammar School in Thetford--Britain's fourth oldest school, Langley School in Loddon, the original Norwich boys school, Norwich School and Norwich High School for Girls in the city of Norwich itself. The Kings Lynn district has the largest school population. Norfolk is also home to Wymondham College, the UK's largest remaining state boarding school.

Tertiary education

The University of East Anglia is located on the outskirts of Norwich and Norwich University College of the Arts (previously Norwich School of Art and Design) is based in seven buildings in and around St George's Street in the city centre, next to the River Wensum.

The City College Norwich and the College of West Anglia are colleges covering Norwich and Kings Lynn as well as Norfolk as a whole. Easton College, west of Norwich, provides agriculture-based courses for the county, parts of Suffolk and nationally.

University Campus Suffolk also run higher education courses in Norfolk, from multiple locations including Great Yarmouth College.

Politics

Norfolk is a shire county, under the control of Norfolk County Council. This is divided into seven local government districts, Breckland District, Broadland District, Great Yarmouth Borough, King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough, North Norfolk District, Norwich City and South Norfolk.

In October 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government produced a Local Government White Paper inviting councils to submit proposals for unitary restructuring. Norwich submitted its proposal in January 2007, which was rejected in December 2007, as it did not meet all the rigorous criteria for acceptance. In February 2008, the Boundary Committee for England, (from 1 April 2010 incorporated in the Local Government Boundary Commission for England), was then asked to consider alternative proposals for the whole or part of Norfolk, including whether Norwich should become a unitary authority, separate from Norfolk County Council. In December 2009, the Boundary Committee recommended a single unitary authority covering all of Norfolk, including Norwich.

However, on 10 February 2010, it was announced that, contrary to the December 2009 recommendation of the Boundary Committee, Norwich would be given separate unitary status. The proposed change was strongly resisted, principally by Norfolk County Council and the Conservative opposition in Parliament. Reacting to the announcement, Norfolk County Council issued a statement that it would seek leave to challenge the decision in the courts. A letter was leaked to the local media, in which the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government noted that the decision did not meet all the criteria and that the risk of it "being successfully challenged in judicial review proceedings is very high". The Shadow Local Government and Planning Minister, Bob Neill, stated that should the Conservative Party win the 2010 general election, they would reverse the decision.

Following the 2010 general election, Eric Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 12 May 2010 in a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government. According to press reports, he instructed his department to take urgent steps to reverse the decision and maintain the status quo in line with the Conservative Party manifesto. However, the unitary plans were supported by the Liberal Democrat group on the city council, and by Simon Wright, LibDem MP for Norwich South, who intended to lobby the party leadership to allow the changes to go ahead.

The Local Government Act 2010 to reverse the unitary decision for Norwich (and Exeter and Suffolk) received Royal Assent on 16 December 2010. The disputed award of unitary status had meanwhile been referred to the High Court, and on 21 June 2010 the court (Mr. Justice Ouseley, judge) ruled it unlawful, and revoked it. The city has therefore failed to attain permanent unitary status, and the previous 2-tier arrangement of County and District Councils (with Norwich City Council counted among the latter) remains the status quo.

Norfolk County Council is Conservative-controlled and led by Derrick Murphy. There are 60 Conservative councillors, 13 Liberal Democrat councillors, 7 Green Party councillors, 3 Labour councillors and 1 UKIP councillor. There was a 63% turnout at the most recent local election.

Following the May 2010 General Election, Norfolk will be represented in the House of Commons,by seven Conservative Members of Parliament and two Liberal Democrats. The Labour Party have lost the urban areas of Norwich and Great Yarmouth in recent elections, leaving them with no Commons representative in East Anglia; the former Home Secretary Charles Clarke being a high level casualty.

Votes % 43.1% 45.9% 27.8% 22.7% 19.0% 10.8% 13.5% 17,764 438,226 251,351 66.8% 38.6%

+Norfolk Election Results
colspan="6"	Parliamentary 6 May 2010	County Council 4 June 2009
Party		! Votes	Votes %	Seats	colspan="2">Party			|	Seats	Seats %
	188,944	|	7	77.8%		115,396	|	60	71.4%
	121,710	|	2	22.2%		56,998	|	13	15.5%
	83,088	|	0	0%		18,786	|	7	8.3%
	20,182	4.6%	0	0%		33,873	|	3	3.6%
colspan="2">Others [1]	24,302	5.5%	0	0%		|	7.1%	1	1.2%
colspan="2"	Totals	|		9	colspan="2"		|		84
colspan="2"	Turnout	|			colspan="2"		|

^[1] Green, LCA, Independents, Others ^[2] UKIP, LCA, Independents, Others

Settlements

Norfolk's county town and only city is Norwich, one of the largest settlements in England during the Norman era. Norwich is home to the University of East Anglia, and is the county's main business and culture centre. Other principal towns include the port-town of King's Lynn and the seaside resort and Broads gateway town of Great Yarmouth. There are also several market towns: Aylsham, Downham Market, Dereham, Fakenham, Diss, Holt, North Walsham, Swaffham, Thetford and Wymondham.

Transport

Norfolk is one of the few counties in England that does not have a motorway. The A11 connects Norfolk to Cambridge and London via the M11. From the west there only two routes from Norfolk that have a direct link with the A1, the A47 which runs into the East Midlands and to Birmingham via Peterborough and the A17 which runs into the East Midlands via Lincolnshire. These two routes meet at King's Lynn which is also the starting place for the A10 which provides West Norfolk with a direct link to London via Ely, Cambridge and Hertford . The Great Eastern Main Line is a major railway from London Liverpool Street Station to Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Norwich International Airport, offers flights within Europe including a link to Amsterdam which offers onward flights throughout the world.

Dialect, accent and nickname

The Norfolk dialect is also known as "Broad Norfolk", although over the modern age much of the vocabulary and many of the phrases have died out due to a number of factors, such as radio, TV and people from other parts of the country coming to Norfolk. As a result, the speech of Norfolk is more of an accent than a dialect, though one part retained from the Norfolk dialect is the distinctive grammar of the region.

People from Norfolk are sometimes known as Norfolk Dumplings, an allusion to the flour dumplings that were traditionally a significant part of the local diet.

More cutting, perhaps, was the pejorative medical slang term "Normal for Norfolk", alluding to the county's perceived status as an illiterate incestuous backwater. The term has never been official, and is now discredited, its use discouraged by the profession.

Tourism

Norfolk is a popular tourist destination and has several major examples of holiday attractions. There are many seaside resorts, including some of the finest British beaches, such as those at Great Yarmouth, Waxham, Cromer and Holkham bay. Norfolk is probably best known for the Broads and other areas of outstanding natural beauty and many areas of the coast are wild bird sanctuaries and reserves with some areas designated as National Parks such as the Norfolk Coast AONB. Tourists and locals enjoy the wide variety of monuments and historical buildings in both Norfolk and the city of Norwich.

The Queen's residence at Sandringham House in Sandringham, Norfolk provides an all year round tourist attraction whilst the coast and some rural areas are popular locations for people from the conurbations to purchase weekend holiday homes. Arthur Conan Doyle first conceived the idea for The Hound Of The Baskervilles whilst holidaying in Cromer with Bertram Fletcher Robinson after hearing local folklore tales regarding the mysterious hound known as Black Shuck.

Amusement parks and zoos

Norfolk has several amusement parks and zoos.

Thrigby Hall near Great Yarmouth was built in 1736 by Joshua Smith Esquire and features a zoo which houses a large Tiger enclosure, primate enclosures and the swamp house which has many Crocodiles and Alligators.

Pettitts Animal Adventure Park at Reedham is a park with a mix of Animals, rides and live entertainment shows.

Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is a free-entry theme park, hosting over 20 large rides as well as a crazy golf course, water attractions, children's rides and "white knuckle" rides.

BeWILDerwood is an award winning adventure park situated in the Norfolk Broads and is the setting for the book ''A Boggle at BeWILDerwood'' by local children's author Tom Blofeld.

Britannia Pier on the coast of Great Yarmouth has rides which include a ghost train. Also on the Pier is the famous Britannia Pier Theatre.

Banham Zoo is set amongst of parkland and gardens with innovative enclosures providing sanctuary for almost 1000 animals including big cats, birds of prey, siamangs and shire horses. It's annual visitor attendance is in excess of 200,000 people, and has often been awarded the prize of Norfolk's Top Attraction, by numerous different organisations, including "Best Large Attraction" by ''Tourism In Norfolk'' in 2010.

Amazona Zoo is situated on of derelict woodland and abandoned brick kilns on the outskirts of Cromer and is home to a range of tropical South American animals including jaguars, otters, monkeys and flamingos.

Amazonia is a tropical jungle environment in Great Yarmouth housing over 70 different species of reptiles including lizards, crocodiles, snakes, tortoises and terrapins.

Extreeme Adventure is a high ropes course built in some of the tallest trees in eastern England. in the 'New Wood' part of Weasenham Woods, Norfolk.

The Sea Life Centre in Great Yarmouth is One of the biggest sea life centres in the country. The Great Yarmouth centre is home to a tropical shark display, one resident of which is Britain's biggest shark 'Nobby' the Nurse Shark. The same display, with its walk-through underwater tunnel, also features the wreckage of a World War II aircraft. The centre also includes over 50 native species including shrimps, starfish, sharks, stingrays and Conger eels.

The Sea Life Sanctuary in Hunstanton is Norfolk's leading marine rescue centre and works both as a visitor attraction as well as a location for rescuing and rehabilitating sick and injured sea creatures found in the nearby Wash and North Sea. The attractions main features are similar to that of the Sea Life Centre in Great Yarmouth, albeit on a slightly smaller scale.

Theatres

The Pavilion Theatre(Cromer) is a 510-seater venue perched on the end of Cromer pier, best known for hosting the famous' end-of-the-pier' show, the Seaside Special. The theatre also presents a high-quality mix of comedy, music, dance, opera, musicals and community shows.

Britannia Pier Theatre (Great Yarmouth) host mainly popular comedy acts such as the Chuckle Brothers and Jim Davidson. the theatre seats 1200 seats and is one of the largest in Norfolk.

Theatre Royal (Norwich) has been on its present site for nearly 250 years, the Act of Parliament in the tenth year of the reign of George II having been rescinded in 1761. The 1300-seat theatre, the largest in the city, hosts a mix of national touring productions including musicals, dance, drama, family shows, stand-up comedians, opera and pop.

Norwich Playhouse (Norwich) is a superb venue in the heart of the city and one of the most modern performance spaces of its size in East Anglia. The theatre has a seating capacity of 300.

The Maddermarket Theatre (Norwich) opened in 1921 and was the first permanent recreation of an Elizabethan Theatre. The founder was Nugent Monck who had worked with William Poel. The Theatre is a world class Shakespearean style play house and has a seating capacity of 310.

Norwich Puppet Theatre (Norwich) was founded in 1979 by Ray and Joan DaSilva as a permanent base for their touring company and was first opened as a public venue in 1980, following the conversion of the medieval church of St. James in the heart of Norwich. Under subsequent artistic directors – Barry Smith and Luis Z. Boy – the theatre established its current pattern of operation. It is a nationally unique venue dedicated to puppetry, and currently houses a 185 seat raked auditorium, 50 seat Octagon Studio, workshops, an exhibition gallery, shop and licensed bar. It is the only theatre in the Eastern region with a year-round programme of family-centred entertainment.

The Garage studio theatre (Norwich) can seat up to 110 people in a range of different layouts. It can also be used for standing events and can accommodate up to 180 people. The high specification of equipment and design means that it is particularly versatile, and can be adapted to a variety of layouts offering a wide choice for performances or events.

The CCN Drama Centre (Norwich) is in the grounds of City College Norwich (CCN), and has a massive stage. The theatre mainly plays host to Broadway style American musicals and has, in the past, presented shows such as Bugsy Malone and Copacabana and in May 2010 saw the highly successful, Thirst Productions Guys and Dolls. The theatre is raked and seats about 220 people.

The Sewell Barn Theatre (Norwich) is the smallest theatre in Norwich and has a seating capacity of just 100. The auditorium features raked seating on three sides of an open acting space. This unusual staging helps to draw the audience deeply into the performance.

The Norwich Arts Centre (Norwich) theatre opened in 1977 in St. Benedict's Street, and has a capacity of 290.

The Princess Theatre (Hunstanton) stands overlooking the Wash and green in the busy East Coast resort of Hunstanton. The Princess Theatre is a 472 seat venue dubbed as one of the friendliest theatres in the country by artists who have performed there. Open all year round, the theatre plays host to a wide variety of shows from comedy to drama, celebrity shows to music for all tastes and children's productions. The venue also has a six week summer season plus an annual Christmas pantomime.

Sheringham Little Theatre (Sheringham) provides intimate and comfortable seating for 180. The theatre programmes a wide variety of plays, musicals, music and also shows films.

The Gorleston Pavilion (Gorleston) is an original Edwardian building with a seating capacity of 300, situated on the Norfolk coast. The theatre stages plays, pantomimes, musicals, concerts as well as the popular 26 week Summer Season.

Notable people from Norfolk

Peter Bellamy, folk singer and musician, who was brought up in North Norfolk

Henry Blofeld, Cricket commentator

Henry Blogg, the UK's most decorated lifeboatman, who was from Cromer

Francis Blomefield, Anglican rector, early topographical historian of Norfolk

James Blunt, English acoustic folk rock singer-songwriter who was raised in Norfolk during his childhood

James Blyth, author of weird fiction and crime mysteries, many of which are set in and around the Norfolk Broads

Boudica, scourge of the occupying Roman Army in first century Britain and queen of the Iceni, British tribe occupying an area slightly larger than modern Norfolk

Sir Thomas Browne, English Renaissance writer, physician and early archaeologist

Martin Brundle, former motor-racing driver and now a commentator was born in King's Lynn

Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, writer, born at Heydon

Dave Bussey, former BBC Radio 2 and current BBC Radio Lincolnshire presenter

Howard Carter, archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb; his childhood was spent primarily in Swaffham

Edith Cavell, a nurse executed by the Germans for aiding the escape of prisoners in World War I

Nick Conrad, UK speech radio presenter, born in Norwich

Cathy Dennis, singer and songwriter, from Norwich

Diana, Princess of Wales, first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, was born and grew up near Sandringham

Anthony Duckworth-Chad, landowner and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk

Sir James Dyson, inventor and entrepreneur, was born at Cromer, grew up at Holt and was educated at Gresham's School

Bill (1916–1986), Brian (1922–2009), Eric (1914–1993), Geoff (1918–2004), John (1937–), and Justin (1961–) Edrich, cricketers

Nathan Fake, electronic dance music producer/DJ

Pablo Fanque, equestrian and popular Victorian circus proprietor, whose 1843 poster advertisement inspired The Beatles song, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, born in Norwich

Natasha and Ralph Firman, racing drivers, were both born and brought up in Norfolk and educated at Gresham's School

Caroline Flack, television presenter, who was born in Norfolk

Margaret Fountaine, butterfly collector, was born in Norfolk, and her collection is housed in Norwich Castle Museum

Elizabeth Fry, prominent 19th century Quaker prison reformer pictured on the Bank of England £5 note, born and raised in Norwich

Stephen Fry, actor, comedian, writer, producer, director and author who was born in London and was brought up in the village of Booton near Reepham and also briefly attended Gresham's School. He now has a second home near King's Lynn.

Samuel Fuller, signed the Mayflower Compact

Claire Goose, actress who starred in ''Casualty'', was raised in Norfolk

Roderick Gordon, writer of Tunneles series.

Ed Graham, drummer of Lowestoft band The Darkness, was born in Great Yarmouth

Sienna Guillory, actress, from north Norfolk, who was educated at Gresham's School

Sir Henry Rider Haggard, novelist, author of ''She'', ''King Solomon's Mines'', born Bradenham 1856 and lived after his marriage at Ditchingham

Jake Humphrey, BBC presenter, spent most of his childhood in Norwich

Andy Hunt, footballer, grew up in Ashill.

Julian of Norwich, mediaeval mystic, born probably in Norwich in 1342; lived much of her life as a recluse in Norwich

Robert Kett,leader of Kett's Rebellion in East Anglia 1549, from Wymondham

Sid Kipper, Norfolk humourist, author, songwriter and singer

Myleene Klass, former Hear'Say singer, comes from Gorleston

Holly Lerski, singer and songwriter, former member of the band Angelou, grew up and resides in Norfolk

Samuel Lincoln, ancestor of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln

Matthew Macfadyen, actor who starred in ''Spooks'', was born in Great Yarmouth

Ruth Madoc, actress, was born in Norwich

Kenneth McKee, surgeon who pioneered hip replacement surgery techniques, lived in Tacolneston

Roger Taylor, drummer of the rock band Queen was born in King's Lynn and spent the early part of his childhood in Norfolk.

Danny Mills, footballer, born in Norwich.

Horatio, Lord Nelson, Admiral and British hero who played a major role in the Battle of Trafalgar, born and schooled in Norfolk.

Nimmo Twins, sketch comedy duo well known in Norfolk

King Olav V of Norway, born at Flitcham on the Sandringham estate

Beth Orton, singer/songwriter, was born in Dereham and raised in Norwich.

Thomas Paine, philosopher, born in Thetford.

Ronan Parke, Britain's Got Talent 2011 finalist and runner up.

Margaret Paston, author of many of the Paston Letters, born 1423, lived at Gresham.

Barry Pinches, snooker player who comes from Norwich.

Matthew Pinsent, Olympic champion rower, was born in Holt.

Prasutagus, 1st century king of the Iceni, who occupied roughly the area which is now Norfolk

Philip Pullman, author, born in Norwich

Anna Sewell, writer, author of ''Black Beauty'', born at Great Yarmouth, lived part of her life at Old Catton near Norwich and buried at Lamas, near Buxton.

Thomas Shadwell, playwright, satirist and Poet Laureate

Allan Smethurst, 'The Singing Postman' who sang songs in his Norfolk dialect, was from Sheringham

Hannah Spearritt, actress and former S Club 7 singer, who is from Gorleston

Peter Trudgill, sociolinguist specialising in accents and dialects including his own native Norfolk dialect, was born and bred in Norwich

George Vancouver, born King's Lynn. Captain and explorer in the Royal Navy

Stella Vine, English artist, spent many of her early years in Norwich

Sir Robert Walpole, first Earl of Orford, regarded as the first British prime minister

Tim Westwood, rap DJ and Radio 1 presenter, grew up in and around Norwich

Parson Woodforde, 18th century clergyman and diarist

E-Z Rollers, Drum and bass group was formed in Norwich.

People associated with Norfolk

The following people were not born or brought up in Norfolk but are long-term residents of Norfolk, are well known for living in Norfolk at some point in their lives, or have contributed in some significant way to the county.

Verily Anderson, writer, lived in North Norfolk.

Bill Bryson, writer, has lived in the county since 2003.

Adam Buxton, comedian and one half of Adam and Joe, moved to Norfolk in 2008

Richard Condon (impresario), Theatre Royal, Norwich and Pavilion Theatre, Cromer Pier manager

Revd Richard Enraght, 19th century clergyman, religious controversialist, Rector of St Swithun, Bintree

Liza Goddard TV and stage actress, lives in the village of Syderstone.

Trisha Goddard, TV personality, lives in Norwich and writes a column in the local newspaper the ''Eastern Daily Press''.

John Major British Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, has a holiday home in Weybourne.

Alan Partridge, fictional character associated with radio show ''Norfolk Nights''

Martin Shaw, stage, television and film actor, is based in Norfolk.

Delia Smith, cookery writer and major Norwich City Football Club shareholder

John Wilson, angler, writer and broadcaster

See also

Duke of Norfolk

Earl of Norfolk

Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk

High Sheriff of Norfolk

List of places in Norfolk

List of future transport developments in the East of England

List of Parliamentary constituencies in Norfolk

Norfolk Terrier

Norwich Terrier

Recreational walks in Norfolk

Royal Norfolk Regiment

References

External links

Official Visitor site for the East of England

East of England Tourism

Eastern Daily Press – Norfolk Newspaper

Norfolk County Council

Norfolk tourism (official site)

Norfolk Tourist Information & Articles

Norfolk Tourist Information

"60 Years of Change". A digital story, telling of the changes in a village school in rural Norfok

Photos of Norfolk

Norfolk Rural Community Council, supports communities across Norfolk

Norfolk E-Map Explorer – historical maps and aerial photographs of Norfolk

Gallery of Norfolk – Photographs of Norfolk

Photographs of North Norfolk

Norfolk Record Office – Government agency that collects and preserves records of historical significance for the county of Norfolk and makes them accessible to the public. Useful for genealogical research.

Norfolk County Council YouTube channel

Category:Non-metropolitan counties Category:Kingdom of East Anglia

af:Norfolk ang:Norþfolc ar:نورفولك az:Norfolk zh-min-nan:Norfolk be:Графства Норфалк br:Norfolk bg:Норфолк ca:Norfolk cs:Norfolk (anglické hrabství) cy:Norfolk de:Norfolk et:Norfolk es:Norfolk eo:Norfolk (Anglio) eu:Norfolk fr:Norfolk (comté) fy:Norfolk (greefskip) ga:Norfolk gv:Norfolk ko:노퍽 주 hi:नॉर्फ़क id:Norfolk is:Norfolk it:Norfolk he:נורפוק (מחוז) kw:Norfolk sw:Norfolk la:Norfolcia lv:Norfolka, Lielbritānija lb:Norfolk lt:Norfolkas mr:नॉरफोक nl:Norfolk (graafschap) ja:ノーフォーク no:Norfolk nn:Norfolk oc:Norfolk (Anglatèrra) pnb:نارفوک pl:Norfolk (Anglia) pt:Norfolk (Inglaterra) ro:Norfolk qu:Norfolk ru:Норфолк simple:Norfolk sk:Norfolk (Anglicko) sl:Norfolk sh:Norfolk fi:Norfolk sv:Norfolk th:นอร์ฟอล์ก tr:Norfolk uk:Норфолк vo:Norfolk zh:诺福克郡

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM (; 12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song which influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, containing many folk song arrangements set as hymn tunes, in addition to several original compositions.

Life

Early years

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born on 12 October 1872 in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, where his father, the Reverend Arthur Vaughan Williams (the surname Vaughan Williams is an unhyphenated double-barrelled name of Welsh origin), was vicar. Following his father's death in 1875 he was taken by his mother, Margaret Susan née Wedgwood (1843–1937), the great-granddaughter of the potter Josiah Wedgwood, to live with her family at Leith Hill Place, a Wedgwood family home in the Surrey Hills. He was also related to the Darwins, Charles Darwin being a great-uncle. Though born into the privileged intellectual upper middle class, Vaughan Williams never took it for granted and worked all his life for the democratic and egalitarian ideals in which he believed.

As a student he had studied piano, "which I never could play, and the violin, which was my musical salvation." After Charterhouse School he attended the Royal College of Music (RCM) under Charles Villiers Stanford. He read history and music at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his friends and contemporaries included the philosophers G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell. He then returned to the RCM and studied composition with Hubert Parry, who became a friend. One of his fellow pupils at the RCM was Leopold Stokowski and during 1896 they both studied organ under Sir Walter Parratt. Stokowski later went on to perform six of Vaughan Williams's symphonies for American audiences, making the first recording of the Sixth Symphony in 1949 with the New York Philharmonic, and giving the U.S. premiere of the Ninth Symphony in Carnegie Hall in 1958.

Another friendship made at the RCM, crucial to Vaughan Williams's development as a composer, was with fellow-student Gustav Holst whom he first met in 1895. From that time onwards they spent several 'field days' reading through and offering constructive criticism on each other's works in progress.

Vaughan Williams's composition developed slowly and it was not until he was 30 that the song "Linden Lea" became his first publication. He mixed composition with conducting, lecturing and editing other music, notably that of Henry Purcell and the English Hymnal. He had already taken lessons with Max Bruch in Berlin in 1897 and in 1907–1908 took a big step forward in his orchestral style when he studied for three months in Paris with Maurice Ravel.

In 1904, Vaughan Williams discovered English folk songs and carols, which were fast becoming extinct owing to the oral tradition through which they existed being undermined by the increase of literacy and printed music in rural areas. He travelled the countryside, transcribing and preserving many himself. Later he incorporated some songs and melodies into his own music, being fascinated by the beauty of the music and its anonymous history in the working lives of ordinary people. His efforts did much to raise appreciation of traditional English folk song and melody. Later in his life he served as president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), which, in recognition of his early and important work in this field, named its Vaughan Williams Memorial Library after him. During this time he strengthened his links to prominent writers on folk music, including the Reverend George B. Chambers.

In 1905, Vaughan Williams conducted the first concert of the newly founded Leith Hill Music Festival at Dorking which he was to conduct until 1953, when he passed the baton to his successor, William Cole. In 1909, he composed incidental music for the Cambridge Greek Play, a stage production at Cambridge University of Aristophanes' ''The Wasps''. The next year, he had his first big public successes conducting the premieres of the ''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'' (at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester Cathedral) and his choral symphony ''A Sea Symphony'' (Symphony No. 1). He enjoyed a still greater success with ''A London Symphony'' (Symphony No. 2) in 1914, conducted by Geoffrey Toye.

Two World Wars

Vaughan Williams was 41 when World War I began. Though he could have avoided war service entirely, or tried for a commission, he chose to enlist as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps. After a gruelling time as a stretcher bearer in France and Salonika, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery on 24 December 1917. On one occasion, though too ill to stand, he continued to direct his battery while lying on the ground. Prolonged exposure to gunfire began a process of hearing loss which eventually caused severe deafness in old age. In 1918, he was appointed Director of Music, First Army, and this helped him adjust back into musical life.

After the war, he adopted for a while a somewhat mystical style in ''A Pastoral Symphony'' (Symphony No. 3), which draws on his experiences as an ambulance volunteer in that war; and ''Flos Campi'', a work for solo viola, small orchestra, and wordless chorus. From 1924 a new phase in his music began, characterised by lively cross-rhythms and clashing harmonies. Key works from this period are ''Toccata marziale'', the ballet ''Old King Cole'', the Piano Concerto, the oratorio ''Sancta Civitas'' (his favourite of his choral works) and the ballet ''Job: A Masque for Dancing'', which is drawn not from the Bible but from William Blake's ''Illustrations of the Book of Job''. He also composed a ''Te Deum'' in G for the enthronement of Cosmo Gordon Lang as Archbishop of Canterbury. This period in his music culminated in the Symphony No. 4 in F minor, first played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1935. This symphony contrasts dramatically with the "pastoral" orchestral works with which he is associated; indeed, its almost unrelieved tension, drama, and dissonance have startled listeners since it was premiered. Acknowledging that the Fourth Symphony was different, the composer said, "I don't know if I like it, but it's what I meant." Two years later, Vaughan Williams made a historic recording of the work with the same orchestra for HMV (His Master's Voice), his only commercial recording. During this period, he lectured in America and England, and conducted The Bach Choir. He was President of the City of Bath Bach Choir between 1946 and 1959. He was appointed to the Order of Merit in the King's Birthday Honours of 1935, having previously declined a knighthood. He also gave private lessons in London to students including Irish composer Ina Boyle.

Vaughan Williams was an intimate life long friend of the famous British pianist Harriet Cohen. His letters to her reveal a flirtatious relationship, regularly reminding her of the thousands of kisses that she owed him. Before Cohen's first American tour in 1931 he wrote "I fear the Americans will love you so much that they won't let you come back." He was a regular visitor to her home and often attended parties there. Cohen premiered Vaughan Williams's "Hymn Tune Prelude" in 1930, which he dedicated to her. She later introduced the piece throughout Europe during her concert tours. In 1933 she premiered his Piano Concerto in C major, a work which was once again dedicated to her. Cohen was given the exclusive right to play the piece for a period of time. Cohen played and promoted Vaughan Williams's work throughout Europe, the USSR, and the United States.

His music now entered a mature lyrical phase, as in the ''Five Tudor Portraits''; the ''Serenade to Music'' (a setting of a scene from act five of ''The Merchant of Venice'', for orchestra and sixteen vocal soloists and composed as a tribute to the conductor Sir Henry Wood); and the Symphony No. 5 in D, which he conducted at the Proms in 1943. As he was now 70, many people considered it a swan song, but he renewed himself again and entered yet another period of exploratory harmony and instrumentation. His very successful Symphony No. 6 of 1946 received a hundred performances in the first year. It surprised both admirers and critics, many of whom suggested that this symphony (especially its last movement) was a grim vision of the aftermath of an atomic war: typically, Vaughan Williams himself refused to recognise any programme behind this work.

Later work

Before his death in 1958, he completed three more symphonies. His Seventh, ''Sinfonia Antartica'', which was based on his 1948 film score for ''Scott of the Antarctic'', exhibits his renewed interest in instrumentation and sonority. The Eighth Symphony, first performed in 1956, was followed by the much weightier Symphony No. 9 in E minor of 1956–57. This last symphony was initially given a lukewarm reception after its first performance in May 1958, just three months before his death. But this dark and enigmatic work is now considered by many to be a fitting conclusion to his sequence of symphonic works.

He also completed a range of instrumental and choral works, including a Tuba Concerto, ''An Oxford Elegy'' on texts of Matthew Arnold, and the Christmas cantata ''Hodie''. He also wrote an arrangement of The Old One Hundredth Psalm Tune for the Coronation Service of Queen Elizabeth II. At his death he left an unfinished Cello Concerto, an opera ''Thomas the Rhymer'' and music for a Christmas play, ''The First Nowell'', which was completed by his amanuensis Roy Douglas (b. 1907).

Despite his substantial involvement in church music, and the religious subject-matter of many of his works, he was described by his second wife as "an atheist ... [who] later drifted into a cheerful agnosticism." It is noteworthy that in his opera ''The Pilgrim's Progress'' he changed the name of the hero from John Bunyan's ''Christian'' to ''Pilgrim''. He also set Bunyan's hymn ''Who would true valour see'' to music using the traditional Sussex melody "Monk's Gate". For many church-goers, his most familiar composition may be the hymn tune ''Sine nomine'' written for the hymn "For All the Saints" by William Walsham How. The tune he composed for the mediaeval hymn "Come Down, O Love Divine" (''Discendi, Amor santo'' by Bianco of Siena, ca.1434) is entitled "Down Ampney" in honour of his birthplace.

He also worked as a tutor for Birkbeck College.

In the 1950s, the composer supervised recordings of all but his Ninth Symphony by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Decca. At the end of the sessions for the mysterious Sixth Symphony, Vaughan Williams gave a short speech, thanking Boult and the orchestra for their performance, "most heartily," and Decca later included this on the LP. He was to supervise the first recording of the Ninth Symphony (for Everest Records) with Boult; his death on 26 August 1958 the night before the recording sessions were to begin provoked Boult to announce to the musicians that their performance would be a memorial to the composer. These recordings, including the speeches by the composer and Boult, have all been reissued by Decca on CD.

Vaughan Williams is a central figure in British music because of his long career as teacher, lecturer and friend to so many younger composers and conductors. His writings on music remain thought-provoking, particularly his oft-repeated call for all persons to make their own music, however simple, as long as it is truly their own. Vaughan Williams was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.

Marriages

He was married twice. His first marriage was to Adeline Fisher (daughter of the historian Herbert William Fisher) in 1896. Adeline was related to Ruth Fisher de Ropp, who was the mother of Robert S de Ropp. Robert's father, a semi-destitute European nobleman, was unable to pay for his son's post-secondary education. Consequently, Ralph and Adeline Vaughan Williams paid for Robert’s education at the Royal College of Science, in South Kensington, where he eventually specialised in biology and earned a PhD. De Ropp went on to be a successful research scientist and well-known author of books on human potentials. Adeline Fisher Vaughan Williams died in 1951 after many years of suffering from crippling arthritis.

Vaughan Williams had an affair with the married poet Ursula Wood beginning in 1938. After Wood's husband died in 1942, Wood became Ralph's literary advisor and personal assistant and moved into his Surrey home, apparently with the tacit approval of Adeline, for whom Wood served as a caretaker until Adeline's death in 1951. Wood wrote the libretto to his choral work ''The Sons of Light'', and contributing to that of ''The Pilgrim's Progress'' and ''Hodie''. Wood and Vaughan Williams married in 1953 and moved to London and occupied a house at 10 Hanover Terrace, Regents Park until the composer's death five years later. In 1964 Wood published RVW: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams. She served as honorary president of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society until her death in 2007.

Style

Vaughan Williams's music has often been said to be characteristically English, in the same way as that of Gustav Holst, Frederick Delius, George Butterworth and William Walton. In ''Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination'', Peter Ackroyd writes, "If that Englishness in music can be encapsulated in words at all, those words would probably be: ostensibly familiar and commonplace, yet deep and mystical as well as lyrical, melodic, melancholic, and nostalgic yet timeless." Ackroyd quotes music critic John Alexander Fuller Maitland, whose distinctions included editing the second edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' in the years just before 1911, as having observed that in Vaughan Williams's style "one is never quite sure whether one is listening to something very old or very new."

His style expresses a deep regard for and fascination with folk tunes, the variations upon which can convey the listener from the down-to-earth (which he always tried to remain in his daily life) to the ethereal. Simultaneously the music shows patriotism toward England in the subtlest form, engendered by a feeling for ancient landscapes and a person's small yet not entirely insignificant place within them. His earlier works sometimes show the influence of Maurice Ravel, his teacher for three months in Paris in 1908. Ravel described Vaughan Williams as the only one of his pupils who did not write music like Ravel.

Works

Operas

''Hugh the Drover or Love in the Stocks'' (1910–20). Romantic ballad opera. Libretto: Harold Child

''Sir John in Love'' (1924–28), from which comes an arrangement by Ralph Greaves of ''Fantasia on "Greensleeves"''

''The Poisoned Kiss'' (1927–29; revisions 1936–37 and 1956–57). Libretto: Evelyn Sharp (later amended by Ralph and Ursula Vaughan Williams)

''Riders to the Sea'' (1925–32), from the play by John Millington Synge

''The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1909–51), based on John Bunyan's allegory

:*''The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains'' (1921). Libretto: Ralph Vaughan Williams (from John Bunyan) (Later incorporated, save for the final section, into ''The Pilgrim's Progress'')

Incidental music

''The Wasps'' (1909; to Aristophanes's play ''The Wasps''; best known as an orchestral suite)

''The Bacchae'' (1911; to Euripides's tragedy)

''The Death of Tintagiles'' (1913; to Maurice Maeterlinck's 1894 play)

Ballets

''Old King Cole'' (1923)

''On Christmas Night'' (1926)

''Job: A Masque for Dancing'' (1930)

''The Running Set'' (1933)

''The Bridal Day'' (1938–39)

Orchestral

Symphonies

*''A Sea Symphony'' (Symphony No. 1), a choral symphony on texts by Whitman (1903–1909)

*''A London Symphony'' (Symphony No. 2) (1913)

*''A Pastoral Symphony'' (Symphony No. 3) (1921)

*Symphony No. 4 in F minor (1931–34)

*Symphony No. 5 in D major (1938–43)

*Symphony No. 6 in E minor (1944–47, rev. 1950)

*''Sinfonia antartica'' (Symphony No. 7) (1949–52) (partly based on his music for the film ''Scott of the Antarctic'')

*Symphony No. 8 in D minor (1953–55)

*Symphony No. 9 in E minor (1956–57)

Heroic Elegy and Triumphal Epilogue (1900)

''In the Fen Country'', for orchestra (1904)

Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 (1906, rev. 1914))

''The Wasps'', an Aristophanic suite (1909; see Incidental music above)

''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'' (1910, rev. 1913 and 1919)

March: Sea Songs (1923)

Prelude and Fugue in C minor (1930)

The Running Set (1933)

''Fantasia on "Greensleeves"'' (1934)

Two Hymn Tune Preludes (1936)

Partita for Strings (1938)

''Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus'' (1939)

Household Music (1940)

Concerto Grosso, for three parts of strings requiring different levels of technical skill (1950)

Prelude on an Old Carol Tune (1952)

''Flourish for Glorious John'' (1957)

Concerti

Violin

*''The Lark Ascending'' for violin and orchestra (1914)

*''Concerto Accademico'' for violin and orchestra (1924–25)

Viola

*''Flos Campi'' for viola, wordless chorus and small orchestra (1925)

*Suite for Viola and Small Orchestra (1934)

*Romance for viola and piano (1925–1934 circa)

Piano

* Piano Concerto in C major (1926–31)

*Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (c. 1946; a reworking of Piano Concerto in C)

Oboe Concerto in A minor, for oboe and strings (1944)

''Fantasia (quasi variazione) on the Old 104th Psalm Tune'' for piano, chorus, and orchestra (1949)

Romance in D-flat major for harmonica and orchestra (1951) (written for Larry Adler)

Tuba Concerto in F minor (1954)

Choral

''A Cambridge Mass'', mass for SATB, double chorus & orchestra (1899); Doctoral exercise, first performed 3 March 2011.,,,

''Toward the Unknown Region'', song for chorus and orchestra, setting of Walt Whitman (1906)

''Five Mystical Songs'' for baritone, chorus and orchestra, settings of George Herbert (1911)

''Fantasia on Christmas Carols'' for baritone, chorus, and orchestra (1912); arranged also for reduced orchestra of organ, strings, percussion)

Mass in G minor for unaccompanied choir (1922)

''Sancta Civitas'' (The Holy City) oratorio, text mainly from the Book of Revelation (1923–25)

Te Deum in G major (1928)

''Benedicite'' for soprano, chorus, and orchestra (1929)

''In Windsor Forest'', adapted from the opera ''Sir John in Love'' (1929)

''Three Choral Hymns'' (1929)

''Magnificat'' for contralto, women's chorus, and orchestra (1932)

''Five Tudor Portraits'' for contralto, baritone, chorus, and orchestra (1935)

''Dona nobis pacem'', text by Walt Whitman and other sources (1936)

''Festival Te Deum'' for chorus and orchestra or organ (1937)

''Serenade to Music'' for sixteen solo voices and orchestra, a setting of Shakespeare, dedicated to Sir Henry Joseph Wood on the occasion of his Jubilee (1938)

"Six Choral Songs To Be Sung In Time Of War" (1940)

''A Song of Thanksgiving'' (originally ''Thanksgiving for Victory'') for narrator, soprano solo, children's chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra (1944)

''An Oxford Elegy'' for narrator, mixed chorus and small orchestra (1949)

''Three Shakespeare Songs'' for SATB unaccompanied, composed for The British Federation of Music Festivals National Competitive Festival (1951)

''O Taste and See'', a motet setting of Psalm 34:8. The original SATB version was composed for the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in June 1953. (1953)

''Hodie'', a Christmas oratorio (1954)

''Folk songs of the Four Seasons'' A Cantata for Women's Voices with Orchestra or pianoforte accompaniment (1950).

''Epithalamion'' for baritone solo, chorus, flute, piano, and strings (1957)

''A Choral Flourish'' for unaccompanied SATB chorus, composed for a large choral event in the Royal Albert Hall at the invitation of (and dedicated to) Alan Kirby (c. 1952)

''O How Amiable (1934)'' An arrangement of a hymn for chorus and organ, originally written for the Abinger Pageant

Arrangements of Christian hymns

Vaughan Williams was the musical editor of the English Hymnal of 1906, and the co-editor with Martin Shaw of Songs of Praise of 1925 and the Oxford Book of Carols of 1928, all in collaboration with Percy Dearmer. ''A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing'' ''All Creatures of Our God and King'' ''Alleluia, Sing to Jesus'' ''Amid the Thronging Worshippers'' ''At the Name of Jesus'' ''"Come Down, O Love Divine"'' original hymnody by Bianco of Siena (1434)''"Discendi, Amor santo"''and entitled "Down Ampney" in honour of Vaughan Williams's birthplace ''Come, Let Us with Our Lord Arise'' an Easter anthem ''Come Thou Long Expected Jesus'' a carol for the season of Advent

''For All the Saints'' harmonised from ''"Sine Nomine"''

''God Be With You Till We Meet Again'' ''I Love You Lord, My Strength, My Rock'' ''I Sing the Mighty Power of God'' ''Jesus, Lord, Redeemer''

''"Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence",'' text of the Cherubic hymn of Liturgy of St James, harmonised to the French folk tune Picardy (1906)

''Make Room Within My Heart, O God''

''My God, My God, O Why Have You Forsaken Me?'' a lament for Good Friday services during Passiontide

''O Come to Me, the Master Said''

''"O Little Town of Bethlehem"'' a popular Christmas Carol penned by the American Phillips Brooks adapted to the English tune ''"Forest Green"''

''O Sing a Song of Bethlehem'' ''On Christmas Night All Christians Sing'' ''When the Church of Jesus''

Vocal

"Linden Lea", song (1901)

''The House of Life'', six sonnets by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, set to music (1904)

''Songs of Travel'' (1904)

"The Sky Above The Roof" (1908)

''On Wenlock Edge'', song cycle for tenor, piano and string quartet (1909)

''Along the Field'', for tenor and violin

''Three Poems by Walt Whitman'' for baritone and piano (1920)

''Four Poems by Fredegond Shove:'' for baritone and piano (1922)

''Four Hymns:'' for tenor, viola obbligato and piano (1914)

''Merciless Beauty'' for tenor, two violins, and cello

''Four Last Songs'' to poems of Ursula Vaughan Williams

''Ten Blake songs'', song cycle for high voice and oboe (1957)

Chamber and Instrumental

String Quartet in C minor (1897) (early composition)

String Quartet No. 1 in G minor (1908)

String Quartet No. 2 in A minor ("For Jean, on her birthday," 1942–44)

''Phantasy Quintet'' for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello (1912)

Piano Quintet in C minor for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano (1903)

Sonata in A minor for violin and piano (1952)

Romance for viola and piano (undated)

Six Studies in English Folk Song, for violoncello and piano (1926)

Organ

''Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes'' (Bryn Calfaria, Rhosymedre, Hyfrydol) (1920)

''Prelude and Fugue in C minor'' (1921)

''A Wedding Tune for Ann'' (1943)

''The Old One Hundredth Psalm Tune'', harmonisation and arrangement (1953)

''Two Organ Preludes'' (The White Rock, St. David's Day) (1956)

Film, radio, and TV scores

''49th Parallel'', 1940, his first, talked into it by Muir Mathieson to assuage his guilt at being able to do nothing for the war effort

''Coastal Command'', 1942

BBC adaptation of ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', 1942

''The People's Land'', 1943

''The Story of a Flemish Farm'', 1943

''Stricken Peninsula'', 1945

''The Loves of Joanna Godden'', 1946

''Scott of the Antarctic'', 1948, partially reused for his ''Sinfonia antartica'' (Symphony No. 7)

''The England of Elizabeth''

''Bitter Springs'', 1950

Band

''Rhosymedre''(based on a Welsh hymn tune for organ) for concert band (1920)

''English Folk Song Suite'' for military band (1923)

''Sea Songs'' (1923)

''Toccata Marziale'' for military band (1924)

''Overture: Henry V'' for brass band (1933/34)

''Flourish for Wind Band'' (1939)

''Prelude on Three Welsh Hymn Tunes'' arranged from the organ piece for brass band (1955) and published by Salvationist Publishing and Supplies

''Variations'' for brass band (1957)

Recordings

Vaughan Williams enjoys an extensive recorded legacy. Early recordings of individual symphonies made by Henry Wood (London), John Barbirolli (Fifth), Adrian Boult and Leopold Stokowski (both in the Sixth), and the composer's own recording of the Fourth, preceded several complete cycles. Stokowski's 1943 NBC Symphony broadcast of the Fourth Symphony has also been issued on CD, as has his 1964 Proms performance of the 8th with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Sir Eugene Goossens recorded the 1920 edition of ''A London Symphony'' with the Cincinnati Orchestra for RCA Victor in 1941, the only recording of that version of the score ever made. Boult taped the first cycle (Symphonies 1–8) for Decca in the early 1950s, completing it with No. 9 for the Everest label in 1958; he re-recorded all nine for EMI between 1967 and 1972. Other cycles have followed from André Previn, Bernard Haitink, Bryden Thomson, Vernon Handley, Leonard Slatkin and Richard Hickox.

Several other foreign conductors have also recorded individual Vaughan Williams symphonies: Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein both recorded the Fourth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic, the same orchestra with which Leopold Stokowski had made the first recording of the Sixth Symphony in 1949. This work was also recorded by Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony in 1966. Paavo Berglund also recorded the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies and, among other CD releases, the Portuguese premiere of the Ninth Symphony, with Pedro de Freitas Branco conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Portugal, has also been issued. Similarly, the US premiere of the Ninth Symphony, given by Leopold Stokowski in Carnegie Hall in 1958 'In Memoriam Vaughan Williams' has also been released on CD by Cala Records.

A first official release of the Symphony No. 5 conducted by the composer in 1952 was recently issued in the U.K. by Somm Recordings.

David Willcocks recorded much of the choral output for EMI in the 1960s and 1970s. Award-winning performances of the string quartets have followed on Naxos, which along with the Hyperion and Chandos labels have recorded much neglected material, including works for brass band and the rarely performed operas.

EMI Classics has issued a budget 30-CD set (34+ hours) with virtually all of Vaughan Williams's works, including alternative settings.

See also

International Council for Traditional Music

Notes

References

''Vaughan Williams on Music'', Ralph Vaughan Williams & David Manning. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-518239-2

''Heirs & Rebels'', Ralph Vaughan Williams & Gustav Holst; ed. Ursula Vaughan Williams & Imogen Holst. London, Oxford University Press, 1959.

''Vaughan Williams'', Simon Heffer. Northeastern; First American edition (1 March 2001). ISBN 978-1-55553-472-1.

External links

1956 audio interview with Vaughan Williams on his editing of the English Hymnal (from the BBC)

The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society

Vaughan Williams Phantasy Quintet Soundbites and discussion of work

(on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the composer's death)

"Famous names in the First World War—Ralph Vaughan Williams" from The National Archives, includes extracts from his army service record, and his 1901 Census return.

Category:1872 births Category:1958 deaths Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Music Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Category:Ballet composers Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey Category:Darwin-Wedgwood family Category:Deaf musicians Category:Decca Records artists Category:English agnostics Category:English composers Category:English folk-song collectors Category:English humanists Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English socialists Category:Members of the Order of Merit Category:Old Carthusians Category:Opera composers Category:People from Cotswold (district) Category:Music and musicians from Gloucestershire Category:People of the Edwardian era Category:People of the Victorian era Category:Royal Artillery officers Category:Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Category:Composers for harmonica

ar:ريف فون ويليامز zh-min-nan:Ralph Vaughan Williams ca:Ralph Vaughan Williams cs:Ralph Vaughan Williams cy:Ralph Vaughan Williams da:Ralph Vaughan Williams de:Ralph Vaughan Williams es:Ralph Vaughan Williams eo:Ralph Vaughan Williams fr:Ralph Vaughan Williams fy:Ralph Vaughan Williams ga:Ralph Vaughan Williams ko:랠프 본 윌리엄스 it:Ralph Vaughan Williams he:ראלף ווהן ויליאמס la:Radulphus Vaughan Williams nl:Ralph Vaughan Williams ja:レイフ・ヴォーン・ウィリアムズ no:Ralph Vaughan Williams pl:Ralph Vaughan Williams pt:Ralph Vaughan Williams ru:Воан-Уильямс, Ральф simple:Ralph Vaughan Williams fi:Ralph Vaughan Williams sv:Ralph Vaughan Williams tr:Ralph Vaughan Williams uk:Ральф Воан-Вільямс zh:雷夫·佛漢·威廉斯