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William Vickers (fl. 1770–1780) lived near Newcastle upon Tyne. His occupation as a surveyor likely required travel, enabling him to collect tunes from diverse sources: local fiddlers, urban music publishers, and oral traditions from the Scottish Borders. The manuscript’s date “1770” is inscribed on the title page, placing it in the early reign of George III.

At that time, dance tunes were disseminated via cheap printed sheets (e.g., John Johnson’s 200 Favourite Country Dances) and handwritten manuscripts exchanged among musicians. Vickers’ book is unusual for its size and the inclusion of tune titles that mix local dialect, political references, and standard dance forms. William Vickers (fl

Why do dancers obsess over this book? Because Vickers was meticulous about labeling. Unlike the famously prim Playford’s Dancing Master (which

For each tune, he often wrote the specific type of dance it accompanied. You will find entries marked "Allemande," "Minuet," "Jig," or "Rant." This makes the Vickers collection of dance tunes an essential primary source for: plus a PDF booklet. 👉 village-music-project.org.uk

Unlike the famously prim Playford’s Dancing Master (which was published for the urban middle class), Vickers' book includes "rough" tunes—drunken wedding marches, shepherd’s calls, and modal melodies that sit uncomfortably in major or minor keys. These are the sounds of the tavern, not the ballroom.

To give you a taste of the gold within the Great Northern Tunebook, here are six standout tunes that are impossible to find elsewhere in such raw form:

This UK-based project digitizes English country dance manuscripts.
Search their site for Vickers – they have a complete ABC transcription of all tunes, plus a PDF booklet.
👉 village-music-project.org.uk