What is it about?
This piece talks about the life of Bob Patten in terms of where we was born, went to school and grew up. Bob’s important ‘roots’ as part of a farming family come through within this obituary. This tribute also talks about what subject he studied at university and his personal interests which led him into the work of folklore/folk song collecting and his life-long fascination with oral history and recording people. He focused mainly on the county of Somerset. This article provides an overview of the written work Bob produced, which was based on material from his own field recordings. The positive impact of his marriage to Jacqueline Patten, in terms of his work, is also discussed. Some of Bob’s professional networks are mentioned and the names of particular organisations (e.g. Wren Music, the British Library Sounds Archive) or individuals (e.g. Ruth Tongue, Kingsley Palmer) might already be familiar to the reader if they are interested in Westcountry history and traditions. Finally, this article gives some sense of who Bob was a person and the qualities which meant he was valued and highly regarded by other people.
Featured Image
Photo by Benji Martinez on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Bob Patten was a modest man and prior to his death he was not much written about as a collector. However, the fieldwork he continued with his wife Jacqueline Patten formed an important body of work, now known as the Bob & Jacqueline Patten English Folk Music Collection. Their archive is important because they collected together in the same place over a long period of time, so there is the opportunity to look at continuity and change. The Pattens collected material from people who other collectors had not recorded, so some of the material they amassed is completely original. Because of digitalisation, recordings made by Bob Patten and his wife are now much more accessible, for example, they can be listened to through the internet. There is therefore an opportunity for scholars and enthusiasts to appreciate and explore Bob and Jacqueline Patten’s work.
Perspectives
I have enjoyed discovering some of the material in the Patten archive and exploring some of the similarities and differences from material which crops up in other Westcountry collections, such as The Westcountry Folk Centre Archive (British Library reference C1441). As a research student, I completed some of my fieldwork collecting with Jacqueline Patten. In 2016, I wrote a piece entitled "Desperate Father or Murderous Fool? The Genesis of One Migratory Legend of Poverty, Fecundity and Multiple Birth" for the journal Folk Life. One of the multiple-birth legends focused on came from a Somerset man who Bob and Jacqueline Patten recorded. It was very satisfying linking this with other narratives within a wider tradition both within the UK and internationally. The Patten’s material provides scope for other scholars who might want to start a similar journey with a custom, song, piece of folk music or narrative tradition.
Dr Sarah J Davies
University of the West of England
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Robert Patten (1948–2018), Folklore, January 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/0015587x.2019.1567135.
You can read the full text:
Resources
"Desperate Father or Murderous Fool? The Genesis of One Migratory Legend of Poverty, Fecundity and Multiple Birth"
Article which focuses on a Somerset folk narrative collected by Bob and Jacqueline Patten.
Bob Patten of Morchard Bishop- a true gentleman who will be greatly missed.
Obituary from the local paper concerning the passing of Robert (Bob) Patten by journalist Alan Quick.
Bob Patten
Professional tribute to Bob Patten after his death in autumn 2018.
Bob Patten
Obituary written about Bob Patten for the official Morchard Bishop Parish Council publication following his death. This was Bob Patten's parish at the time of his death. The reader will need to download the November 2018 version of this publication from the website.
The Bob & Jacqueline Patten English Folk Music Collection
This is a link to all of the field records generated by Bob and Jacqueline Patten that have so far been digitalised by the British Library's National Sounds Archive. The title of the collection may be slightly misleading in that the material is broader (e.g. there are interviews with people about their lives, recording of folk narratives more broadly, discussion about local customs and beliefs, etc).
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
