Carols of note

The tradition of singing carols at Christmas stretches back to the Middle Ages. The origins of many favourite carols, such as ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, are now long lost. Some may have started out as folk songs that gradually came to be connected with the Nativity story. For centuries, many towns and villages had their own local collection of carols. These live on in places such as Derbyshire, where the Castleton Carollers sing carols heard nowhere else. Other carols have a more definite history. The words to ‘While Shepherds Watched’ were first published in 1700. For 80 years, in the 18th century, this was the only Christmas hymn authorised by the Church of England. There are a multitude of tunes for this hymn, the most common of which is Winchester Old. In parts of Yorkshire, Cranbrook is popular – the tune for ‘On Ilkley Moor Baht ’At’.