A Virgin Unspotted
Knock At The Knocker, Ring At The Bell track 9
Cecil Sharp collected versions of A Virgin Unspotted – including at least two in Shropshire – but our version comes from Marden in Herefordshire, via Chappell’s Popular Music of the Olden Time (1853-9) and the New Oxford Book of Carols (NOBC). Chappell used the tune for the bloodthirsty naval ballad Admiral Benbow, but noted that it had been collected from a group of carollers, singing these words. As with other carols on this CD, the song dates back to at least the seventeenth century. It was widespread in the English oral tradition, and in church quire repertoires; the words also crossed the Atlantic and were set by the early American composer William Billings (1746-1800).