The neatly written out copy in Francis Collinson’s collection does not appear to be in Collinson’s handwriting, and was quite possibly written out by Eyton Boulding in preparation for the recording of the BBC radio programme Country Magazine which was broadcast on 28th June 1942. It is headed “Chas Boulding’s song” – referring to Eyton’s “Uncle Cholly”, Charles Boulding.
It is unclear why, in that copy, the song is titled ‘Where de Lambs Dey Skip Wid Pleasure’. This kind of substitution of ‘d’ for ‘th’ was often associated with blackface minstrelsy. But in this case it seems more likely that it is an attempt to reproduce the old Kentish dialect, where the same substitution of letters took place – see A dictionary of the Kentish dialect and provincialisms in use in the County of Kent (1888) page vi.
No singer or location is given for this song in the VWML archive catalogue. However the sheet in Collinson’s MS is headed “Pinn Farm, Bonnington, Nr. Ashford”, which was the residence of Eyton Boulding. And it is dated 17th June 1942, which is the same date given in the catalogue for ‘Where de Lambs Dey Skip Wid Pleasure’ (COL/2/16).
A version of the song was included in the Kent-themed episode 5 of BBC Home Service programme Country Magazine, broadcast at 13:15 on Sunday 28th June 1942. The song was sung by baritone Frederick Woodhouse, with music arranged by Francis Collinson, who may have been responsible for the rewritten words.
At the foot of yonder mountain where the river runs so clear I have orchards, fair green meadows, and good hops for Kentish beer There’s fine arching, fine poaching and there’s music everywhere At the foot of yonder mountain, where the river runs so clear.
If little Mary had been constant then she might have been my bride. But her mind it was more fickle than the rain upon the tide, So I took me another for to wed and give me cheer, At the foot of yonder mountain, where the river runs so clear.
As I walk about my meadows, as I labour in my fields, When I view the bounteous increase that our toil and patience yields, I do know I’ve been faithful to the land I hold so dear At the foot of yonder mountain. where the river runs so clear.
Eyton Boulden. Photo used by permission of Mr. David Boulding.
The following appeared in the Kentish Express, 16th February 1973:
Church organist and farmer dies
ONE of Bonnington’s best known farmers, Mr. Eyton Boulden, died on Tuesday in Ashford Hospital. He was 80.
Mr. Boulden was organist at Bonnington Church for more than 20 years. Before that he was organist at Aldington Church for 25 years.
He lived at Pinn Farm, Bonnington where he built an organ in a barn so that he could play whenever he wanted to.
Mr. Boulden was one of those rare people who had the same home all his life. He took over the farm from his father and never left Bonnington.
A month later, on 16th March 1973, the same newspaper printed this obituary:
E. M. BOULDEN
AN APPRECIATION
BY THE recent death of Mr. Eyton Miles Boulden at the age of 80, of Pinn Farm, Bonnington, the village has lost not only its Lord of the Manor but a revered figure.
He was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. David Boulden and came of a family which had farmed in the area since the ISOOs. His only surviving brother George, now 89. still lives at Ruffins Hill, Aldington. his brother Bertie farmed at Paddlesworth and his sister Olive was a school teacher and headmistress at Newchurch.
Partly retiring in 1958, it was not until five or six years ago that he rented his farm to his nephews, but he still cared for a few sheep.
Beside farming his other great love was music. He played the organ at Aldington church for 25 years and at Bonnington for 20 years.
Another great delight was the Newchurch Musical Society.
He wrote many stories of the Marsh and researched into its history and into the history of nearby villages and into the history of the smugglers.
He was in great demand as a speaker and broadcast on radio on country matters.
Last year his documentary on the Cinque Ports was put to music and received great local acclaim.
A great reader and a great plant grower, he also painted still life pictures of charm.
Beside being Lord of the Manor he was also a Lord of the Level of Romney. It was owing to him that the village school was purchased for a village hall.
Eyton Miles Boulden was born on 30th Aug 1892, and baptised at St Rumbold’s, Bonnington, on 16th October. He was the son of David, a farmer, and Olive Grace née Foord. As stated in the newspaper report, he lived his entire life at Pinn Farm, Bonnington. He was actually the youngest in the family, having two older brothers and a sister.
In 1911 he was listed in the census as “Farmer’s son working on farm”, in 1921 as “Shepherd & Stock Man”. He married Edith Annie Hogben at St Rumbold’s on 18th May 1923; they had no children.
Francis Collinson obtained a single song from him on 17th June 1942. This was ‘Where the lambs they skip with pleasure’, a version of ‘The Streams of lovely Nancy’, and headed “Chas Boulding’s song”. The neatly written out sheet music does not seem to be in Collinson’s handwriting. It may in fact have been written out by Eyton Boulden in preparation for the upcoming Kent-themed episode of the BBC’s Country Magazine. The fact that in this copy the song is titled ‘Where de Lambs Dey Skip Wid Pleasure’ is probably an attempt to reproduce the old Kentish dialect where, according to A dictionary of the Kentish dialect and provincialisms in use in the County of Kent (1888)
The voiced th [dh] is invariably pronounced d; so that, this, then, though become dat, dis, den, dough [dat, dis, den, doa]
From an article in the Maidstone Telegraph for 24th July 1942 we learn that this song featured in the Kent-themed episode 5 of Country Magazine broadcast at 13:15 on Sunday 28th June 1942, on the BBC Home Service:
Uncle Charlie’s Song
In response to requests from many readers we publish below “Uncle Charlie’s Song”—”At the Foot of Yonder Mountain,” which was so beautifully rendered in the recent Kent Country programme by the B.B.C.
The song, which is at least 150 years old, was sung by Frederick Woodhouse, and the music was arranged by Francis Collinson.
The “Uncle Charlie” in question was almost certainly Charles Boulding (1836-1926), a farmer at Bonnington, referred to in his obituary as “Bonnington’s grand old man”. He and Eyton were first cousins once removed, and also related by marriage – his mother’s sister Agnes Foord married Charles’ brother Jesse. David Boulding of the Boulding Study website tells me that the family certainly associate the song with him, referring to it as “Uncle Cholly’s song”. He also relates that almost everyone in Bonnington seemed to be related – either a Boulding/Boulden or a Foord. Apparently Eyton used to say that if you were walking in the dark and someone passed you, and you could not see who it was, “Goodnight Aunty” or “Goodnight Uncle” would almost certainly be a suitable greeting.
We know from a report in the Kent Messenger, 3rd July 1942, that Eyton Boulden was one of the contributors to the Country Magazine broadcast on 28th June. A few years later a report on a Bilsington Womens’ Institute meeting in the Kentish Express, 23rd February 1945, mentions that “A talk by Eyton Boulden on his experiences at the B.B.C. when broadcasting for “Country Magazine” was much appreciated”. In fact he was to make another appearance on the programme, in April 1949 – the Kentish Express for 22nd April listed “Mr. Eyton Boulden, Bonnington farmer” as one of the participants in the previous week’s programme, which covered Romney Marsh.
The Bouldings were clearly a musical family. After the war Eyton bought a church organ and re-built it in a barn on his farm. The Kentish Express 17th February 1950 reported on this:
FARMER ACHIEVES LIFE AMBITION
Builds Church Organ In Barn
WHEN Mr. Eyton Boulden, a Bonnington farmer, was a boy he longed for a keyboard instrument.
As a makeshift he experimented by placing the blades of ivory-handled knives between the leaves of a very thick book, thus making them resemble the keyboard of a piano. Any necessary sounds were provided by young Eyton.
Years passed and a small American organ appeared in his home; later, he watched his sister playing a pipe organ in the village church. Eyton Boulden made up his mind that he, too, would one day play a pipe organ.
PRACTICES UNDER DIFFICULTIES
He had his first organ lesson at the age of 17 in Westwell Church, leaving home after finishing his farm work at 6 p.m., walking a mile and a half to Aldington and then going on a borrowed bicycle another eleven miles. He did not return until nearly 11 p.m. and had to be up again by four o’clock the next morning. In the summer farming left little time for organ lessons.
But practice made perfect, and for nine years he was organist at Bonnington Church, transferring to Aldington Church, from which he resigned as organist last year after over a quarter of a century.
Some years ago he was able to acquire a small practice organ which he kept at his home, Pinn Farm – the former Manor House.
IN AUCTIONEERS’ ANNOUNCEMENT
He continued to read all he could about organ building, realising that if he ever possessed his own instrument it would have to be largely home-built.
Four years ago in an auctioneer’s announcement he saw advertised, ” Three church organs.”
To-day, in a barn adjoining the house at Bonnington, there stands a fine church organ built by Mr. Boulden and a friend. After purchasing the organ, Mr. Boulden spent three days dismantling it and took it to his home in lorry-loads. The components, stored in various places throughout the farm included nearly 800 pipes of all sizes.
The organ which has a beautiful tone, is 100 years old.
Eyton Boulden died on 13th February 1973. He left the organ to his nephew Clive, who moved it to a barn about 400 yards away from its previous home.
Charles Boulding. Photo used by permission of Mr. David Boulding.
When Cecil Sharp made his brief visit to Kent in September 1908, he started a new field notebook (CJS1/9/1/1908/7). The first page of that notebook contains a series of cryptic – and sometimes indecipherable – notes. These include names: presumably men who had been recommended to him as worth visiting in search of songs. One of these is “Charlie Boulding (Cherry Picker)”. Then in June 1942 Francis Collinson noted down a song from Mr Eyton Boulden at Bonnington, which was described as “Chas Boulding’s song”. It was tempting to jump to the conclusion that Chas / Charlie Boulding are one and the same but Boulding (or Boulden) is an extremely common name in that area of Kent, on the edge of Romney Marsh and, although they were related, these Charles Bouldings were in fact two separate people.
Charles was, I believe, somewhat of a character. He played the bassoon in the church orchestra before organs were used and was notable for a song known in the family as “Uncle Cholly’s song”. He lived at Lawson farm – next Bonnington Court which was then known as Court Lodge
Charles and Eyton were first cousins once removed, and also related by marriage – his mother’s sister Olive Foord married Eyton’s brother Jesse.
Baptised on 16th October 1836, at the church of St Martin, Aldington, the parish records have him as ‘Charles Boulden’, although census records consistently spell his surname as ‘Boulding’. His father, George, was a labourer, whose family hailed from Smeeth and, before that, Crundale; his mother Elizabeth, née Young, was from Brabourne. Census records indicate that Charles’ birthplace was Hurst, south of Aldington, on the Royal Military Canal.
“HURST, a parish in the hundred of Street, liberty of Romney-Marsh, lathe of Shepway, county Kent, 7 miles S.E. of Ashford. Hythe is its post town. The parish, which is small, is situated on the Royal Military canal. The land is partly in hop-grounds. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Canterbury, value £55. The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, has gone to decay, and the inhabitants frequent the church at Aldington.”
In 1841 the family resided at Mount Pleasant, Aldington, while in 1851 their address is given only as Aldington Parish. Charles had an older sister and, by 1853, three younger brothers and three younger sisters. No occupation is recorded for him in 1851 although, aged 14, one suspects he might already have been doing at least some work as an agricultural labourer. That’s his occupation in both 1861 and 1871, when the family were living in Peacock Road, Aldington.
He married Jane Chambers, from nearby Hurst, at St Martin’s, Aldington, on 9th February 1878. His occupation was given as “Woodman”. At the next census, 3 years later, their residence is given simply as “Cottage”, in Bonnington. His occupation was now “Farmer & grazer”, Jane’s was given as “Do [i.e. ditto]; Wife”. In 1891 they were living at Goddard Farm, Carpenter Land, Bonnington. He is now “Farmer & carrier”, and the couple have one farm servant living with them.
Jane died in 1894, and was buried in Aldington on 11th May. Thereafter Charles remained at Goddard Farm until his death in 1926. One other resident is recorded in censuses from 1901 onwards – Elizabeth Coombs, a housekeeper.
The Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph ran the following obituary on 1st May 1926:
BONNINGTON’S GRAND OLD MAN.
The late Mr. Charles Boulding.
Bonnington’s “grand old man,” Mr. Charles Bolding. passed away on Sunday at the age of 90 years. By his death the district loses a truly remarkable man, who never experienced a day’s serious illness in all his 90 years. He was born in September, 1836, and for the past 50 years has resided at “Goddards” Farm. Bonnington. For a number of years he was in partnership with his brother at Court Lodge Farm. He also had extensive agricultural and grazing interests in Romney Marsh.
Mr. Boulding’s very active career included public work as Overseer, Guardian, District Councillor (East Ashford Union), and Rate Collector. He was a Tory of the old school, and it is interesting to note that his last political activity took him to Bilsington by motor car to record his vote at the General Election two years ago. On this occasion he was accompanied by Mr. William Higgins, who was the same age, 88, and has since died. Mr. Boulding could relate many humorous political stories of the old days. He was then a man much sought after at social functions, being a keen dancer and singer. For many years he played the bassoon in Aldington Church choir. He was a staunch Churchman and a bellringer. In his younger days he was a good goalrunner and supporter of fox hunting and coursing. Only two years ago Mr. William Blacklocks, of Lydd, claimed him as guest at the Coursing Club annual dinner.
Mr. Boulding will be widely missed as a gentleman of sterling character, loved and respected by many throughout the county. His wife died 34 years ago. There were no children, but deceased leaves a brother, Mr. Hy. Boulding, of Kennington, and a sister, Mrs. Washford, of Croydon. Longevity evidently is hereditary, for his father reached the age of 74, and his mother lived to see her 91st birthday.
The funeral takes place to-day (Saturday), when deceased will be interred by the side of his wife in Aldington Churchyard.
It’s worth mentioning, perhaps, that not all of his relations survived to old age. Two of his siblings died at just 35 – sister Harriet in 1879, and brother Jesse in 1888. But the Mrs Washford mentioned in the newspaper – his youngest sister, Alice – died in 1927 at the age of 80, and his brother Henry lived to the ripe old age of 93, dying in 1943.
[1] David Boulding, private communication, 7th October 2024
