LOCAL singers and musicians are reviving the West Gallery style of music for two Christmas concerts.

The carol concerts will be held at St Mary the Virgin Church in Puddletown, near Dorchester, on Sunday, November 30 and St Swithun’s Church in North Allington, near Bridport, on Sunday, December 14.

Similar in style to shape-note singing, West Gallery music was sung by village choirs in English country churches from the 18th century onwards.

Performing from within the ‘West Galleries’ of churches, village singers were often accompanied by a band of musicians playing instruments such as fiddle, serpent and trombone.

But these village choirs were lost, due to the clergy wanting to regain control of the sung matter, musical purists disliking the tunes and arrangements that broke many of their musical rules, and church restorers choosing not to replace the old and creaky West Galleries.

Out went the quirky musicians and their handwritten tunes; in came local schoolmistresses playing the harmonium and eventually, in 1861, Hymns Ancient and Modern.

The concerts celebrate rural churches in Puddletown and North Allington which have managed to retain their West Galleries.

They are being revived as part of a series of Heritage Lottery funded South Dorset Ridgeway projects.

Led by folk musician Tim Laycock and Phil Humphries of The Mellstock Band, and following the success of last autumn’s West Gallery concerts and the Hammond folk song project this summer, the Ridgeway Singers and Band have regrouped this autumn and explored West Gallery carols from the Puddletown and Pulham manuscripts.

The performers have also worked on two newly-composed carols inspired by the South Dorset Ridgeway, and will present them as part of a special programme in two concerts through Artsreach this winter, in a true celebration of the Christmas spirit.

Tickets cost £5, including mulled wine and a mince pie, for both concerts.

For the Puddletown concert, which starts at 3.30pm on November 30, call Diana Wilson for tickets on 01305 848510.

For the North Allington concert, which starts at 3.30pm on December 14, call 01305 269512 for tickets.