Doc Rowe

A regular at Whitby Folk week, Doc Rowe is best known for documenting folklore, song, dance and cultural tradition. This developed from an early interest in traditional song in his native Devonshire and a visit to Padstow Mayday celebrations in1963 initiated a regular annual visit and documentation; in turn this inspired an overwhelming commitment to annual ‘serial collecting’ of seasonal events and popular cultural traditions generally. His morning sessions are always well attended and regularly draws from his extensive material on both past and contemporary popular culture of the UK and Ireland. His archive is now housed in controlled conditions in Whitby itself. More recently, a successful crowdfunding has seen professional digitising of most of his film and video material – some 3000 hours which makes this material more accessible. Additionally, a major personal project and a model that can be used elsewhere is almost completed and may be viewed at https://www.echoesofpadstow.org.uk