Is Audlem the hurdy-gurdy capital of England?

To find one hurdy-gurdy being played in an English pub is uncommon. To find three (and sometimes four) is almost unheard of, but, in Audlem, three hurdy-gurdies form the core of a group called Forlorne Hope that meets regularly to play music that ranges from medieval to modern European. The hurdy-gurdies are supplemented by a range of similarly unusual instruments including bagpipes, dulcimers, fiddles and a comprehensive selection of woodwind including crumhorns, recorders and rackets. And at times by even more eccentric devices such as a bulbul tarang, an Estonian talharpa and an occarina made from an ostrich egg. You can read all about Forlorne Hope and other traditional music in an article by Ian Bloor here on the Homepage and hear a range of traditional instruments every Monday night at the Shroppie Fly pub.

And if you think the claim about Audlem being the hurdy-gurdy capital is far fetched, on a per capita basis London would need to have 12,000 hurdy-gurdies to overhaul us!

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