Charles Barling
Charles Barling, singer, Ruckinge, Kent.
Songs collected by Cecil Sharp, 23rd September 1908:
- Kind Sir I am too young (Roud 564) - tune and first verse
- Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor (Roud 4) - tune only
Mr Barling was 81, and living at The Corner, Ruckinge - right in the centre of the village, near the Blue Anchor pub - when he sang for Sharp.
He was baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Ruckinge, on 20 Jan 1828, the son of Mary (née Clemens or Clements) and William Barling (an agricultural labourer).
In the 1851 Census, Charles is listed - along with his father and two brothers - as an agricultural labourer. He married Lydia Knowlden from Ivychurch in November 1851. David Sutcliffe (Cecil Sharp's People) notes that Charles and Lydia had 10 children, losing 3 in infancy. Subsequent census returns show that Charles continued to work as an agricultural labourer, and continued to live in Ruckinge up until his death at the age of 89 in January 1917.
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