S&DR 1825 Music

S&DR Music in 1825
Music was a key part of the S&DR celebrations with every new branch of the railway to be opened accompanied by a band, often positioned inside adapted band waggons. On the opening day of the 27th September 1825, Mr Meynell’s band from Yarm boarded two waggons behind ‘Experiment’ at Darlington so that the rest of the journey was accompanied by music. They also played music during the banquet at Stockton’s Town Hall where they played from a side room. This was before the brass band, and instruments of the time were a little different from today.
Here you can find nine of the tunes played during the opening day in 1825 on authentic instruments of the period by Queen Victoria’s Consort. These tracks are free for you to download and use during your own celebrations, especially if you are planning events for 2025.
You will also find below videos of the specialist musicians who will introduce you to their historic musical instruments. These videos will be of particular interest to musicians, students and educators. Feel free to use them in your school, college or anywhere there are people interested in music.
Please feel free to download this music or the videos, but if you are using them at an event or sharing them, please credit The Friends of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and Queen Victoria’s Consort. If you are sampling the music or adapting it (yes, you can!), then also use the above credit to acknowledge the original source of the music. Have fun and do send us audio files of any new music you make or pictures of your musical event. If you have any problems, just contact us via the web site’s contact button.
The music here was played by Queen Victoria’s Consort and includes:
Andy Kershaw
Tim Hawes
Jeremy West
Sue Addison
Robert Vanryne
The musical pieces were arranged by Steve Robson.
This project was financed by the S&DR Community Grant Fund and the Friends of the S&DR.