You are standing outside Fairfield Church Hall, practice room of the Fairfield Brass Band.
Fairfield Brass Band was one of four brass bands around Buxton. During and after World War 2, all four bands were struggling for members, despite many remaining behind to undertake the grueling task of quarrying massive quantities of lime for steel production in the war effort and the consequent rebuilding of Britain. Two of the bands were disbanded and their members went to strengthen Burbage and Fairfield brass bands.
Please click below to hear cornet player Charles Kitchen’s memories of a Christmas afternoon.
Transcript 1
“The band itself was, originally, what they called a fife and drum band like most villages had in years gone by; the 1800’s and so on. It changed to a brass band in 1865. When we got into the late forties and fifties, certainly the fifties, we started taking in areas like where Tunstead is now, out to the farms, and Green Fairfield. We would go around the village on Christmas day morning, when I say the village I mean Fairfield of course, playing carols around the streets. Then, in the afternoon, we would go around the park; around the circle around the cricket ground. And, of course, in those days, they were all houses, they weren’t flats – families’ had houses there.”