Lucy Broadwood: the life and times of a Sussex folk song collector

Lucy Broadwood (1858 - 1929) lived a full and varied life, with many interests and challenges. Her work as a pioneer folk song collector in the 1880s and 1890s, made possible the later work of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Percy Grainger, and Cecil Sharp. As well as being a founding member of the English Folk Song Society, she was also a leading light in the Purcell Society, and greatly interested esoteric and mystical beliefs. Despite battling ill-health most of her adult life, she was active until the last. In this talk, Chris will draw on her extensive and revealing diaries to help paint a picture of this remarkable woman and her life.