Unlocking hidden treasures of England's cultural heritage

A ground-breaking nationwide digital archive and learning project

Discover English folk songs, tunes, dances and customs

“The Full English is possibly the most exciting and significant thing to happen to British folk music in at least a generation. It is a hugely important moment and a massive gift to the nation.”
Lee Hall, playwright and screenwriter (Billy Elliot, Pitman Painters, War Horse)

The Full English is the biggest project the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) has undertaken since the building of our HQ, Cecil Sharp House, in 1930!  It is the creation of the largest searchable digital archive of early 20th century English folk arts; a national programme of workshops, lectures, training and community events in all nine English regions; and the commission, tour and release a CD of new and newly arranged music inspired by the collections.

A grant of £585,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £11,000 from the National Folk Music Fund, given in memory of former EFDSS President Ursula Vaughan Williams, and support from The Folklore Society has made it possible for the world to see these riches online and for thousands of people in England to get involved in an array of projects, giving these remarkable materials back to the communities from where they were originally collected.

About 15,000 people will be involved in this project in some way or another – from children learning folk songs and dances to music fans seeing the very best artists at one of The Full English live gigs.  We hope we will be somewhere near you in the next 12 months, so do come and join us.

The Full English is also supported by the English Miscellany Folk Dance Group.

See who we’re working with
Partners

Explore the archive: 12 new collections will be freely available from Thursday 20 June 2013
Uncover the treasures of folk

What’s happening near you?
Folk Song in England study days
The Full English Tour

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See what we’ve been up to on the Full English blog