ABSTRACT

This chapter takes a broader view of church musicians and their work in long nineteenth-century Durham, confined neither by denominational affiliation nor employment status. It deliberately focuses on understanding the historical applicability of the more recent theories and observations; concentrates on the activities and interactions of named individuals enables a detailed understanding of the ways in which status was conferred and regarded across the profession. The chapter explains how an individual's identity as a church musician relied upon their relationships with other musicians and institutions. Durham was home to many church musicians who exercised their roles in differing professional and ecclesiastical contexts. A number of significant points emerge concerning their status and identity and their networked coexistence. The chapter examines an ecumenical range of local records to provide an important reminder that change, development and debate in and about church music was not the sole preserve of the Church of England.