The Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra

The venue for the concert, on Thursday 23rd October 1952, was to be the Regal Ballroom in Alderley Edge, now known as the Festival Hall. Known for many years as the Assembly Rooms, this was built in 1927 on the initiative of Philip Godlee (who lived nearby at The Meadows, Ryley's Lane) to accommodate the new Alderley Edge Music Festival that had been founded in 1910 by a group led by Charles Crofts. During World War 2, the Assembly Rooms functioned under the name of The Regal as a cinema and dance hall, and local girls found it an ideal venue at which to meet the American servicemen stationed in the area.

An immediate problem for the new Committee was that the Regal was not well equipped with audience seating. The committee was undaunted:

Mr Anderson said that he had managed to get 80 chairs from the Church Institute and these, together with about 50 upstairs at the Regal and 60 downstairs at the sides means that 290 chairs must be obtained elsewhere. [In the event, they were borrowed from various church halls in Alderley].

Committee meeting: 30th September 1952

The problem of ushers also taxed the Committee, and Mr Anderson (the village electrician and clearly a man with an eye for detail) had worries about the reliability of the Regal ’s electricity supply:

Miss Francis said she was going to arrange for two girls on each side of the room to sell programmes and for two girls upstairs and for one boy to be in the booking office, one at each door and one upstairs. Mr Arkell and Mr Anderson, it was decided, would be stationed in the Entrance Hall in case anything went wrong. Mr Anderson said they should all have torches.

Committee meeting: 30th September 1952

The concert, with around 400 seats for the audience, was a sell-out. Ticket sales, with prices ranging from 3/6d [18p] for the best seats upstairs to 1/6d [8p] elsewhere resulted in box office takings of £59. 5. 0 [£59.25].

Fund-raising continued to be a major pre-occupation of the Committee and what could be more logical in view of the popularity of The Regal as a dance hall than the setting up of a Dance Commttee? In November 1952, the Committee proudly announced:

A Dance Committee was elected: Mr D Moody, Mr G Hepworth, Mr J Neill, Mr J Anderson, Miss E Lee, Miss S Towell, Miss S Bibbington, Miss N Sumner and Miss J Oldham. Miss Francis said that she would notify this Committee that the dance [to take place at The Regal on a Friday early in February 1953] was to show a profit of £30 to enable the Orchestra to purchase the Percussion intruments.

Committee meeting: 4th November 1952

The ‘percussion instruments’ had previously belonged to a retired Hallé percussion player and had become available to the Orchestra at a knock-down price of £29. 10. 0d [£29.50]. Anticipating the success of the Dance, the Committee had no concerns about finding suitable percussion players:

Mr French said that he would ask a man from Congleton to become a playing member of the Society and lead the Percussion Section. Several non-playing members had expressed a desire to learn to play one of the many instruments belonging to this section.

Committee meeting: 4th November 1952

Fortunately, the Committee’s optimism about the Dance proved to be well-founded: it was a great success and realised £36. 13. 2d [£36.66]. The Percussion instruments (still in the Society’s possession) proved to be ‘a good bargain’, although:

Mr French said it would be necessary to purchase two skins for the timpani which would cost about £8.

Committee meeting: 17th February 1953

Sadly, Philip Godlee died soon after his appointment as President and the Committee started to give thought to the appointment of a suitable replacement:

After a long discussion, it was unanimously agreed that Miss Francis should write to Mr John Hopkins (Conductor of the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra) and ask him to be Mr Philip Godlee ’s successor.

Committee meeting: 17th February 1953

Hopkins was honoured to accept the appointment and played an active role in guiding the Orchestra's subsequent activities. The minutes of 8th June 1953 record ‘how grateful the Orchestra were to Mr John Hopkins for agreeing to become their President and for helping so much at rehearsals. ’

The Committee now turned its sights on the Alderley Edge Music Festival and decided to enter the 1953 competition. On 19th June 1953, the Orchestra played with such expertise (possibly assisted by a lack of competition in this particular class) that it was awarded the Cup. In due course, the Committee proudly recorded:

We played the Magic Flute Overture by Mozart - a difficult work, but with a great deal of practice and valuable help from our President we managed to obtain high praise from Mr Herbert Howells the Judge.

Committee’s Annual Report in June 1953

John Hopkins, the enthusiastic new President, attended the Annual General Meeting in July 1953:

The President said that he was proud of the Orchestra, not only because of their recent success in the Alderley Musical Festival but he liked to be associated with a “Living Body” and he was very happy to be their President. He felt that a warmth of enthusiasm for the music was present in this Orchestra which was rarely felt elsewhere. The President closed his remarks by tellling the Orchestra always to aim a little higher, but never to attempt something they could not do.

Annual General Meeting: 9th July 1953

The Annual Report paints a glowing picture of the Orchestral Society's first post-war year. It had gained a membership of 47 playing and 14 non-playing members; curiously, it reported a shortage of violin, viola, double bass and trombone players, suggesting a remarkable predominance of wind which must have produced problems of balance in those early days. Boosted by profits from the Regal concert, the Dance and further concerts during the year at Lindow and Mobberley, the Society was able to record first-year profit of £15. 13. 1½ [ £15.66] on a turnover of £161. 8. 5½ [£161.42] - a creditable achievement when it is borne in mind that £15 had a buying power of around £300 today.

In compiling this account of the Orchestra's early years, we acknowledge with gratitude the aassistance we have received from Philip Godlee's son Dr Nicholas Godlee.

The Festival Hall today

History of the orchestra

The Alderley Edge Advertiser of 26th May 1922 contains an announcement that a meeting of the Alderley Edge Musical Festival committee had taken place to discuss the formation of an Orchestra. It reported that 'Mr WO West (organist of St Philip's Church, Alderley Edge) had consented to conduct. Weekly rehearsals will begin in the autumn.'

Amongst those attending the meeting was Philip Godlee, the nephew of the prominent Manchester businessman Francis Godlee (1854-1928), a man of many interests including astonomy; he presented his Godlee Observatory and telescopes to the City of Manchester in 1903 following the foundation of the Manchester Astronomical Society. Francis Godlee was joint owner (with a relative William Simpson) of a prosperous cotton manufacturers and calico printers Simpson & Godlee, with offices in Manchester and mills in Bolton and Bury. Philip Godlee became owner of the business in 1924.

Unlike his uncle, Philip Godlee was a very keen musician; he was a proficient viola player and an excellent amateur conductor. He was closely involved with the Alderley Edge Musical Festival (still going strong today) and in later years became Chairman of the Hall é Concerts Society where was responsible for inviting John Barbirolli to become conductor of the Hall é Orchestra.

To Philip Godlee must go the credit for the development of the Orchestra in the early years. The Alderley Edge Orchestral Society gave regular concerts during the late 1920s and 1930s (see Philip Godlee's repertoire notes on left) and performed with great success in the Alderley Edge Musical Festival every year from 1927 to 1938. Godlee built up an impressive list of players on whose services he was able to draw:was able to draw:

Philip Godlee, founder of the orchestra, photographed playing his viola in 1942

VIOLINS

VG Hill

Elsie M Draper

Margaret West

Oswald Milburn

Denys Milburn

Vivien Simpson

Mrs Bythell

Miss Eleanor Lockhart

Mrs J Mosscrop

AG Haworth

Miss J. Slaughter

Miss S. Black

Margaret Milnes

Beatrice Brown

Miss Owen

Miss Mead

Wilfred Cleaver

Mrs TR Worthington

Miss S Warburg

AIlen Vaughan

Miss Anne C. Mason

Mrs A Frischmann

Miss Boon

Charles Hopwood

Miss Frieda Smith

Miss RE Davenport

Miss Betty Nickson

Miss Jean H Thomson

CG Agate

Lawrence Poval

B Nelstrap

Diana Dobson

Mrs Ogg

Nan Morris

Mrs Hampson

Miss Gertrude Coutts

VIOLA

Rev. HE Maddox

Gwenifer Walsh

P.Godlee

E Bryce

Miss Elsie Boon

Frank S Park (Pro.)

Bradford Barton (Pro.)

Wallace Bennett (Pro.)

CELLO

Mrs JR Scott

Miss Frieda Hill

Rev. EA Voysey

Dr Bythell

Mrs Shepard

Mrs Clayton

Godfrey Frischmann

Miss BytheIl

BASS

Mrs Scott

H Howarth (Pro.)

FLUTE

Capt. Oakley

Mr Gray

Miss Stancliffe

CAM Thornton

FB Mayo

PR Lewis [and Clarinet]

CLARINET

Mr Murtagh

HC Prew

Lanham

OBOE

James Boyce

Mark Thornton

Mr Walton

HORN

Alec Greg

GA Gaddum

A Healey

BASSOON

Mark Thornton 2

Roy Clayton

PIANOFORTE

TO Bridge

Mrs Voysey

Miss D Watson

'The Regal' was the venue for the Orchestra's first post-war concert in 1952. It was built in 1928 at a cost of £9,500 for the Alderley Edge Musical Festival and boasted a unique adjustable floor which could be flat for ballroom dancing and sloping for concerts and other entertainments. The Festival Hall later ran into financial difficulties and became the Regal cinema and dance hall in 1938.

In 1936, the orchestra's concert included a performance by James Whitehead of a cello concerto by the seventeenth century Italian composer Leonardo Leo. His work is almost unknown today

Some of these names are of particular interest. AG Howarth (violin) became Sir AG Howarth and was Chairman of the Hallé Orchestra in the 1950s and 1960s. Frank Park played viola in the Hallé, and Miss Stancliffe (flute) was the sister of Patricia Stancliffe who played cor anglais in the Hall é both before and during the Barbirolli years. Rev EA Voysey (cello) was father-in-law of the Manchester-born actor Robert Donat (1905-1958) who starred in many films, including the huge hit The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935).

Evelyn Clayton, a childhood friend of Philip Godlee's wife Barbara, has written a fascinating account of those pre-war days:

It gradually became known as the ‘Assembly Rooms’ and looked like this until recent years.

'One of the first musical activities I joined when we went to live in Manchester, was the Alderley Edge Orchestra. It was at Philip's instigation. "I wish you'd play in the orchestra," he said, "we have very good fun." This was true. It was "very good fun," and the inspiration for the fun and the music came from him.

'It was a curious mixture, like all amateur orchestras. But, unlike many, it was properly run. There was a fixed practice night which Philip, as conductor, never missed. I cannot remember a single time when he sent a deputy , although he was a busy man, and must have had to make some sacrifices. There was a subscription. There was a secretary and a treasurer and properly audited accounts. Music was allowed to be borrowed, but is it was kept too long - and only those who lend music know how conscious less people are in this respect - Philip used to drive round in his car and make a personal call.

'There was a standard both of playing and of attendance. Philip was kindness itself to those who tried hard, even if they couldn't play. I used to write out carefully edited parts which were up to their technique - or lack of it. If more conductors of amateur bands did this, we should not hear the sounds we do at competition festivals. But he was adamant on dynamics and on careful playing. "Dogs' bodies! " he used to shout. "Even if you can't play the notes, you can play softly - and much better, too if you do". And there were one or two scrapers he wouldn't have in, not because they couldn't play, but because they wouldn't try.

'The reason for the excellence of the orchestra - and it was exceedingly good - was this firm basis. Also, of course, he did have some very good players which made the whole. The Bythell family, which supplied two excellent 'cellos and a superlative violin, also added to the keenness and zest for they, too, never missed. And there was the priceless blessing of a double bass who really could play and who understood the music through and through. This was Olga Scott, who was a rock and a tower of strength whether she played the bass or became a 'cello, which was her real instrument. George Lancashire cheerfully drove over from Didsbury , wet or fine - or through fog - to play in the second violins, because he so loved the atmosphere of music and gaiety.

'I remember playing in the "St Paul's" Suite of Gustav Holst, then not so well known as it is now, and the enthusiasm of the audience. Philip confessed to the orchestra afterwards, that once having given it its head in the last movement he had moments when he wasn't sure that he could control it, if anything untoward happened. But nothing upsetting did happen. We just went rollicking along to the end with Philip looking gay and assured, and the final run-up and crashing cord were a triumph. We were playing in the Alderley Edge Festival*, and we won.

'It would be a one-sided picture of the orchestra if only its triumphs were recorded. I remember the absolute failure. This was another Alderley Edge Festival. We attempted a rather ambitious Handel concert**, and everything went wrong. After a shaky start, we seemed unable to pull ourselves together and, in spite of Philip's coaching produced more wrong entries than we had in all the rehearsals put together. We wailed ourselves to an inglorious conclusion. I ventured a timid glance at Philip, and was amazed to see that he was shaking with uncontrollable laughter. He said afterwards that everything seemed to "come on us" at once, and the only thing to do was to just to try hard, battle on, and call it a day.

'This light heartedness restored the morale of the orchestra in miraculous fashion, and our next performance was as assured and smooth running as the last one disastrous.

'I do not know what happened to the orchestra - obviously it could not continue during the war. And now it will never function again, or if it does, it will have a tradition for an inspiration.'

*In 1928

**Concerto Grosso No 11 in B flat (arr. Esposito), performed at the 1933 Festival

But after the war, the Orchestra did indeed function again, and the recent re-emergence of its first post-war minute book, after years in storage, gives a fascinating insight into its early post-war months.

The Orchestra was re-established in its present form in 1952. A preliminary Committee met on 12th June under the chaimanship of Mrs V M Shawcross and agreed, after a discussion ‘at some length’ that the new organisation should be known as ‘The Alderley Edge Orchestral Society’ with the intention of giving an inaugural concert at the end of October or early November.

It was agreed that rehearsals would take place at the Belmont Mission Hall in Heyes Lane, premises then owned by the Wesleyan Methodist Church; the building still exists, although it has in recent years been converted into private dwellings.

The first formal committee meeting, chaired by Mr T Anderson and with Mrs Shawcross as Treasurer and Miss M A Francis as Secretary, took place a fortnight later on 30th June at Miss Francis ’s home at 28 Carrwood Road, Wilmslow. It was decided that the annual subscription should be £1. 1. 0d [£1.05 in today’s terms] and that those attending rehearsals (on Thursday evenings, as today) would be charged 3d [just over 1p] for tea and biscuits. Philip Godlee was invited to be the Society ’s first President, in recognition of his pre-war musical activities.

The major item of discussion, as might be expected, was the programme for the first concert. This again was discussed ‘at some length’ and in keeping with the concert planning traditions of the day the Committee finally agreed the generous, if somewhat indigestible, offering of:

Magic Flute Overture [Mozart]

Chanson de Matin [Elgar]

Chanson de Nuit [Elgar]

Horn Concerto No 4, movements 2 and 3 [Mozart] (soloist: Ione Petch)

The Grenadiers [Waldteufel]

Swan Lake [Tchaikovsky]

(subsequently replaced by William Tell [Rossini])

INTERVAL

Nell Gwynn Dances [Edward German]

Pianoforte Solo (soloist: Rachel Anderson)

(subsequently replaced by Piano Concerto No 1, movements 1 and 2 [Mendelssohn]

London Every Day No 1 [Eric Coates]

The Last Spring [Grieg]

Pomp & Circumstance March No 1 [Elgar]

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

Present at this first post-war concert was Alderley Edge writer writer Alan Garner (right). Click here to hear his memories of the occasion.