John Selkirk (1782 – 1843) was a
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as published i ...
songwriter of the 18th and 19th century. His best known works are those about Bob Cranky and the
Swalwell Hopping.
Early life
John Selkirk was born in 1782 in
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
(just o’er the blue stane o' the brig), The son of George Selkirk, a local barber who had a shop in The Close, Newcastle.
John joined Messrs Strake and Boyd of The
Quayside
The Quayside is an area along the banks (quay) of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne (the north bank) and Gateshead (south bank) in Tyne and Wear, North East England, United Kingdom.
History
The area was once an industrial area and busy com ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
as a clerk.
His songs turn up on "The Northern Minstrel or Gateshead Songster 1806-07".
He has been described as "The Otway of the local muse".
Later life
He did at one stage move to London in attempt to find success as a merchant but this eluded him, and he returned to his native
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as published i ...
in 1830, a failure and destitute.
His final years were lived in poverty and misery.
He sadly fell into the
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...
at or near
Sandgate and drowned when aged 60/61. The report of the inquest in the Newcastle Chronicle 18 November 1843 stated ""....on the body of John Selkirk aged 60 who fell into the river near Sandgate on Saturday evening, and was drowned. The deceased was a person of singular habits and disposition, and had formerly been a respectable merchant in London; but latterly was so reduced in circumstances as to subsist upon the charity of the benevolent. For some time in the past he had slept nights on the shavings of a joiner's shop in Sandgate, and refused to accept parochial relief. On Saturday evening he was observed to carry a tin bottle to the river to obtain water, when he unfortunately fell in....".
He was buried on 14 November 1843 in Ballast Hills burial-ground
(plot Number 655).
Works
The main character he seemed to write about was Bob Cranky, a habitual braggart, and written in his 20s.
This material includes :-
Bob Cranky's 'Size Sunday ('Size being an abbreviation for Assize) (1804)
Bob Cranky's Complaint and
Swalwell Hopping to the tune of Irish air "Paddy's Wedding" (1807).
See also
*
Geordie dialect words
Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...
References
External links
John Selkirk 1782–1843
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selkirk, John
English male poets
English male songwriters
People from Newcastle upon Tyne (district)
Musicians from Tyne and Wear
1843 deaths
1782 births
19th-century English musicians
Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom