2026 programme
Annual festival of Northumberland's traditional music, dance, dialect, crafts, stories, heritage, family events and special themed Vanbrugh Revisited events for the 300th anniversary of Town Hall architect Sir John Vanbrugh.
Before the Gathering: Friday 20th March
7.30 pm NORTHUMBRIAN CONCERT
with Alistair Anderson, Graham Bell, Border Directors, Teddy Cuthbert, Sophie Fraser, Miggins Fiddle, James Tait, MC Ron Forster
Town Hall £16/£8
Many free events.
Prices
Adult/School age. Under 5s free.
Sorry no card/phone payments – please bring cash/cheque.
Festival office
Fri/Sat - Town Hall
Sun - Chantry front shop
Friday 10th April
During today performers will visit local care homes
9.30am - 5.00pm CRAFTS EXHIBITION + refreshments
Craft competition entries (rec’d Thur. 9th April 5.30 pm–7 pm), craft displays, stalls, CDs, books, posters, archive photos
Town Hall
50p at door/accompanied under-12s free
10.00am - 4.00pm OUTDOOR ENTERTAINERS
Punch & Judy, music, song, history
Market Place, Arcade
Free
10.00am – 4.30pm DANCE WORKSHOPS
- 10.00 –11 Historic dances from early 18th century
- 11.30–12.30 Clog (bring flat shoes)
- 1–2pm Maypole or Circle dance
- 3-4pm Longsword Town Hall Ballroom
£3/£1 at door per session
11.00am-1.00pm HAVE-A-GO NORTHUMBRIAN PIPES
Drop-in (beginners; pipes provided) to be conf’d
Bagpipe Museum £3/£1
1.30pm – 2.30pm SHANTIES IN THE CHANTRY
Singalong with Ian McKone Bagpipe Museum
£3/£1 at door
2.00pm OFFICIAL OPENING
Official opening of the Gathering by the Mayor of Morpeth, Cllr Rachael Hogg
Town Hall Exhibition
2.15pm - 4.00pm TOWN TREASURES
Tours of Mayor’s Parlour, Council Chamber, civic silver, portraits, etc., with Mayor & councillors as your guides
Town Hall, Free
2.45pm – 3.30pm WAULKING SONGS AND DULCIMERS WORKSHOP
With Linn Phipps and Sandie & Ken Hudson (bring any instrument and/or voice!)
Bagpipe Museum, £3/£1 door
4.30pm – 5.30pm FAMILY STORIES
Taffy Thomas
Library, Free
5.00pm – 6.00pm THE BAILIFFS’ BALL
Dance event recreating a Morpeth grand assembly of 1726
Town Hall Ballroom, £3/£1
7.30pm – 9.45pm SIR JOHN’S DELIGHT
Ray Alexander as John Vanbrugh presents “A Life of Irony” + Stewart Hardy (fiddle)
Town Hall Ballroom, £9/£5 ticket
8.00pm SINGAROUND venue to be confirmed
led by Ed Lawrence and Sam Dodds
Free (donations welcome)
8.00pm MUSICIANS’ SESSION
Tap & Spile, donations welcome
Saturday 11th April
9.30am – 4.30pm CRAFTS EXHIBITION
as Friday, Town Hall
9.45am – 10.30am FAMILY STORIES
Taffy Thomas
Library, Free
10.00am – 4.00pm OUTDOOR ENTERTAINERS
Punch & Judy, music, Ellington Colliery Band, local morris, clog and rapper teams
Market Place, Park, Bakehse Millenn Green
10.00am – 4.00pm MORPETH CASTLE OPEN DAY
History, stories & music. Arranged with Landmark Trust
Free
10.00am – 10.45am MEET THE NORTHUMBRIAN PIPERS
Drop-in to hear the small pipes
Bagpipe Museum, Free
10.00am – 10.50am POP-UP FOLK ENSEMBLE
Prepare for tonight’s concert (tunes: http://phoenixfolk.co.uk/morpeth to download, or just turn up
St Robt’s Hall, donations welcome
10.15am RING O’ BELLS
Clock Tower tours from 12 approx
11.00am PROCESSION
Gadgy’s Welcome at Market Place
(road closed 10.30-11.45am from Chantry to Manchester St, traffic diverted Dark Lane/Stanley Terrace/Wellway).
12.00noon – 4.00pm STORYTELLER’S GARDEN
Taffy Thomas’s stories , dancers, music
Old Bakehouse Yd Millen Green
12.00noon – 1.15pm CATERWAULING SCRAPES OF THRASHING FIDDLERS
Vic Gammon
St Robert’s Ch Hall, £4/£1 door
12.00noon MUSICIANS’ SESSION
Tap & Spile, donations welcome
12.00noon - 3.00pm SINGAROUND
Joiners Arms, donations welcome
All-venue passport ticket for Saturday competition entrants/audience including craft exhibition £3.00/£1.00.
Doors open 30 mins before times below to allow entrants to register.
12.00noon CLOG DANCE: Solos & groups competitions relaunch with demo by Two Step Town Hall Ballroom
1.45pm SPEAKING & WRITING: Dialect, stories, results of pre-judged written items-deadline 7 Mar. featuring launch of Alex Swailes Memorial young performer award St Robt’s Ch.Hall
1.45pm NORTHUMBRIAN PIPES & LOWLAND/ BORDER /HALF-LONG PIPES: Chantry Bagpipe Museum
2.00pm BANDS, ACCORDIONS, FIDDLES, OTHER INSTRUMENTS, DUETS: St. George’s UR Church
3.30pm SINGING: Solos and groups Town Hall Ballroom
1.30pm – 2.30pm FAMILY SHOW
Storytellers’ Street Band and friends with silly song spots
St James Centre, £3/£1 at door
4.00pm - 5.00pm WOR HOOSE
Heather Laurence introduces her dialect play on NE life
St Robt’s Ch Hall, £3/£1 at door
4.00pm - 6.00pm SLOW & STEADY
Session led by BITS NE for beginners + intermediates
The Wansbeck, Kirkhill (donations welcome)
4.00pm – 5.15pm MORPETH’S MERRIE MUSICKES
Early 18th century music from countryside and theatre (Vanbrugh’s vintage) with Bennett Hogg, Matt Seattle and friends on strings and Border pipes
Bagpipe Museum, £6/£2 ticket
6.30pm – 8.30pm WINNERS’ CONCERT 2025
Winners, Pop-up Band, guests
Ape House Town Hall, £9/£5 ticket (time tbc)
8.00pm MUSICIANS’ SESSION
Tap & Spile, donations welcome
8.00pm NORTHUMBRIAN & BORDER PIPING SESSION venue to be confirmed
Free (donations)
8.30pm – 11.00pm BARN DANCE
Blue Hat Ceilidh Band, guest spots. Bring own drinks
Town Hall Corn Exchange, £9/£5 ticket
Sunday 12th April
Sorry, no Sunday Crafts Exhibition this year
10.00am – 4.00pm MORPETH CASTLE OPEN DAY as Saturday
10.30am – 2.30pm OUTDOOR ENTERTAINERS
Punch & Judy, Duke’s Dandy Clog, musicians, maypole
Market Place
10.30am – 12.00noon MORPETH HERITAGE WALK
from Market Place (must book in advance 01670 513 308)
Donations welcome
10.30am – 11.30am CHURCH SERVICE
with dialect hymns & items from Gathering performers
St George’s UR Church
11.00am – 12.00noon GAELIC PIPING SONGS WORKSHOP
with Linn Phipps
Bagpipe Museum, £3/£1 at door
12.00noon - 3.00pm MUSICIANS’ SESSION
Tap & Spile, Free
12.30pm – 1.30pm TAFFY THOMAS & MOSSY CHRISTIAN
New stories & music show
St James Centre, £5/£1 at door
12.30pm – 1.30pm MUSIC EVENT to be fixed
Bagpipe Museum
2.00pm – 3.00pm DROP-IN DULCIMER WORKSHOP
Nonsuch Dulcimer Club ‘Come and Try’ session on hammered and mountain dulcimers
Bagpipe Museum, £3/£1 at door
2.15pm – 3.30pm FAMILY CEILIDH
Little Big Blue Ceilidh Band
M.N.G. Committee, part of Morpeth Antiquarian Society, Reg. Charity no. 507640, reserves the right to alter event details.
DETAILS/UPDATES: www.northumbriana.org.uk
QUERIES: 01670 513 308
TICKETS: Morpeth TIC 01670 623 455