WThe folk music of England is a tradition-based music, which has existed since the later medieval period. It is often contrasted with courtly, classical and later commercial music. Folk music is traditionally preserved and passed on orally within communities, but print and subsequently audio recordings have since become the primary means of transmission. The term is used to refer both to English traditional music and music composed or delivered in a traditional style.
WThe Country Dance and Song Society is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote participatory dance, music, and song with English and North American roots. Its vision statement is "Communities strengthened by dancing, singing, and making music together."
WFairport's Cropredy Convention is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festival has taken place in August annually since 1976.
WFolkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Sage Gateshead and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. It was begun in 1988 by Alistair Anderson and Ros Rigby and became part of the North Music Trust and The Sage Gateshead in 2002. As such, Folkworks no longer continues to exist as a separate entity, as it is now a part of the North Music Trust and based in The Sage Gateshead.
WHalsway Manor is a manor house in Halsway, Somerset. It is owned by the Halsway Manor Society who operate the manor as a national centre for the folk arts. It is the only residential folk centre in the UK. It is situated off the A358 road between Taunton and Williton on the edge of the Quantock Hills.
WThe Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. It is a multi-media library comprising books, periodicals, audio-visual materials, photographic images and sound recordings, as well as manuscripts, field notes, transcriptions etc. of a number of collectors of folk music and dance traditions in the British Isles. According to A Dictionary of English Folklore, "... by a gradual process of professionalization the VWML has become the most important concentration of material on traditional song, dance, and music in the country." It is named after Ralph Vaughan Williams, the composer, collector and past president of the EFDSS, who died in 1958.
WWest gallery music, also known as Georgian psalmody, refers to the sacred music sung and played in English parish churches, as well as nonconformist chapels, from 1700 to around 1850. In the late 1980s, west gallery music experienced a revival and is now sung by several west gallery "quires" (choirs).
WWickham Festival is a four-day music event that takes place in the village of Wickham, Hampshire, England. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars and children's entertainers. It has been listed by The Guardian as a top 'Family Friendly Boutique Festival'. The 2015 Wickham Festival was named Best Festival at the Live UK Music Business Awards, and the 2018 event won Best Festival at The Guide Awards, with the 2019 event taking the title of Best Live Event.
WWimborne Minster Folk Festival took over from the previously known Wimborne Folk Festival in 2013 when the previous organisers retired in August 2012, after over 30 years organising the festival. The annual festival is still internationally recognised for its traditional English folk music and dance, held in the market town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England.