John Alcock, composer and organist at Holy Trinity 1761 to 1786

To hear some more of Alcock’s music please visit the Choral Public Domain Library or the International Music Score Library Project

Alcock’s complaints about his pay in Sutton Coldfield, in Three hundred years of a family living, being a history of the Rilands of Sutton Coldfield. By W. K. Riland Bedford.

The Cottager’s Complaint in Freeth, J. (1790). The political songster: or, A touch on the times, on various subjects, and adapted to common tunes. The 6th ed., with additions. Birmingham: Printed by T. Pearson, for the author.


Images courtesy of Cadbury Research library, University of Birmingham
Click to be taken to the catalogue entry for Nineteen psalm, hymn, & charity hymn tunes / adapted for the organ, piano forte, &c. ; composed by Samuel Stanley.
Click to listen to a synthesised version of the tune.

You can view more of Samuel Stanley’s tunes here (Google Books)

South Staffordshire Hunting song which mentions Sutton Coldfield and the tune to which it is sung.

Some excerpts from Merrie England, the score for which may have been written in Sutton Coldfield

Click here to view the footage from the 1928 pageant in Sutton Park. If you have any details on the music composed by Graham Godfrey for the pageant please get in touch as no records relating to the music have yet been identified.

Joseph Henry Adam’s Gethsemane

Sheet music for Joseph Adam’s King Conor

Party in the park

Bon Jovi

Skooch! at Eurovision 2007

Click here to see the Arthur Terry uniform film we didn’t have time to see last night.

Jonathan Dean Harvey’s String Quartet No. 4

An interview with Jonathan Dean Harvey

Big Big Train and the transatlantic cable (click on the “Blog” tab)

John Banfield – A forgotten craftsman & his links with Sutton Coldfield