The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) received £585,400 in funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to archive, conserve, and digitize material from six different archives containing some of the country’s most important folk music collections.  The project will provide free public access to 58,400 digitized collection items through a new web portal.  The conservation work being done here will preserve these materials for generations to come.
The Full English Project will combine the collections of Harry Albino, Lucy Broadwood, Clive Cary, Percy Gainger, Maud Karpeles, Frank Kidson, Thomas Fairman Ordish, Cecil Sharp, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Alfred Williams for the first time to develop the most wide-ranging, diverse searchable database of British folk songs, tunes, dances, and customs in the world.

EFDSS hopes to bring folk culture back to the 9 regions of England through partnering up with educational organizations to increase awareness and knowledge of folk in educational institutions and providing creative projects in primary and secondary schools and the rest of the community; local cultural organizations to deliver community projects, events, and concerts; volunteer groups to provide training and volunteer opportunities to over 200 individuals and involve around 20,000 people in community events.

Chief Executive of EFDSS, Katy Spicer, said: “The Full English is the single most important development for these collections that together make up a unique reflection of a major aspect of cultural heritage of England.”

Katy continued by commenting: “We are very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the funding which will safeguard the future of these important collections and bring folk music to a generation that may otherwise never had heard of it.”