Lewis Proudlock’s hornpipe

This tune usually goes by the name of “Proudlock’s Hornpipe”. It is often attributed to James Hill (e.g. Henrik Norbeck index and other net sources) but I believe this to be false. Hill did write a tune called “Proudlock’s Fancy” and this may be where the confusion lies. Proudlock’s Fancy is a completely different tune written in Hill’s “notes all over the place” style. This tune isn’t like that at all - its simplicity is beautiful and it’s one of my favourite hornpipes for sure. It seems to be creeping into the Irish repertoire but I haven’t met anyone in Sydney who plays it. Any info on Lewis Proudlock would be much appreciated - Proudlock of Rothbury??

Dowis spot on - its another Hill attribution in the same way as Blaydon Flats.I have also heard it attributed to Whinham but I think its too early for him. As for who wasProudlock? Proudlock is a common enough Geordie surname. I’ve just checked the telephone directory and there are 27 Proudlocks listed for Tyneside

Noel Jackson
Angels of the North

I thought maybe Lewis Proudlock might have been a famous musician at one time, or related to someone who was. This sounds like a pipe tune to me so I thought maybe a piper - looks like the answer has been lost in the mists of time.

Apparently this is a variant of a morris tune called “General Monk’s March” which first appeared in Playford’s “Dancing Master” (1665), so it is indeed a very old tune. A version of that tune is below (dotted rhythm has been omitted):

T:General Monk’s March
|:D2|G2GB A2Ac|Bdge d3c|BdBG AcAF|G2GA G2:|
Bc|dedc B2B2|cdcB A2A2|dedc B2B2|cdec AcBA|
G2GB A2Ac|Bdge d3c|BdBG AcAF|G2GA G2||

“March” does not refer to tune genre, but rather the following (from the Fiddler’s Companion):

“The melody was in tradition was collected from dancers in the village Sherborne, Gloucestershire, in England’s Cotswolds. The dance itself is a heel-and-toe step dance which is said to be a satire on a Colonel or General Monck, who, while he sympathized with the Royalist cause during the English Civil War, fought on the side of Cromwell’s Roundheads. The story goes that Monck resolved his moral conflict by marching to battle so slowly that he missed each conflict”.

This in its various guises was the classic couple dance for ‘marches’…

Eight years on….

According to sleeve notes (P Kennedy) on a CD of the late piper Jack Armstrong, Lewis or “Lewie” Proudlock was a famous fiddler and fisherman who composed many tunes. He had no fixed job and moved around the county. His granddaughter played with Jack.
Unfortunately, others have tried to find out more based on that information and got nowhere.

There is also this, which seems to suggest he was a piper:

http://www.ancestryaid.co.uk/boards/help-family-history-research/20874-proudlock-family-2.html

Also a Lewis Proudlock who was a poet, though it doesn’t seem to be him.

“Apparently this is a variant of a morris tune called ”General Monk’s March“”

Reckoned to be for General George Monck, Duke of Albermarle, 1608-70.
I knew a Charlie Monck, who stayed in Leyland, Lancashire, or thereabouts, who claimed descendancy of said General.
He ran a folk club for a time in Leyland.

Setting as played at the Golden Guinea pub session, Bristol, UK.

Lewis Proudlock (1838-1914) was a considerable figure in his day. A musician and teacher of dancing he was associated with Proudlock’s Fancy and Proudlock’s Hornpipe but not claimed as a composer of either, or indeed any, tune. See his biography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Proudlock