Queer Places:
Little Woolgarston Cottage, Woolgarston, Corfe Castle, Wareham BH20 5JE
David
Brynley (1902-1981), tenor, and his partner,
Norman Notley, lived at Little Woolgarston Cottage. David Brindley engendered excitement wherever he went, serving as a source
of endless tales for all. Before moving to Purbeck with Norman, he would sing
at a theatre called the ‘Lyric Hammersmith’ in London, as well as perform on
the radio. Just after the First World War, when he acquired a substantial
inheritance, David bought a small cottage in Purbeck near Corfe Castle that
the two entitled the “Crock-Pot”.
Brynley and Notley were lifelong companions and part of the bohemian
artistic community surrounding Corfe Castle near the seaside resort of Swanage
in Dorset, UK in the 1930's. They became influential music historians and
eventually, film makers. They recorded extensively for various labels in the
early days of the British folk revival and specialized in Elizabethan music.
The recordings made in the late 1950s featured Brynley and Notley accompanied
by Paul Wolf on the harpsichord.
In an audio clip recorded in 1979, the couple (now in their 80s – 90s) can
be heard reminiscing over their past works, talking directly with the
microphone, drawing you in to the scene as though you were in the room. Norman
begins by exclaiming his delight that the records had been rediscovered,
stating there were almost too many to recall before speaking of David’s
exploits in recording them despite not really knowing how to handle
“mechanical things”. This is accompanied by contagious giggling from David in
the background who comments on Norman’s stuttering while trying to be careful
with his wording, jokingly stating “I don’t know anything about anything! I do everything with the courage of ignorance.”
Portrait of David (Brynley)
Date
1945, For David & Norman from Frances Hodgkins 1945
Frances Hodgkins and David Brynley at Corfe Castle
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