The Woodplumpton Harmonic Friendly Society was formed in 1809 and flourished for some forty-three years until Shrove Tuesday 1852. (Preston Chronicle. March 6th 1852).
That they had a band of musicians is confirmed in the report in the Preston Chronicle of the 10th April 1847 when “At Woodplumpton on Monday last, the members of the Harmonic Friendly Society, established near half a century ago at this place, held their usual anniversary. At the customary hour in the morning they walked in procession to the parsonage, preceded by the Society’s Band of Music, and upwards of 100 of the Church Sunday School children.
The earliest report of their activities is found in the Preston Pilot of the 25th May 1839 when “At Goosnargh on Tuesday the procession was headed by a colour and the Woodplumpton Band of Musicians“. The size and nature of the band can be found in the letter to the editor of that paper in June 1840 when the correspondent writes in dialect: -
“un gust os aw wur sayin sooa th’band coom haut o Batrons un aw cee derekly os id wur th’plunton band un they begun a plaing gradely wel considderin os ther wor bod height on um beesoide th’drummor”.
In plain English “and just as I was saying so, the band came out of Barton’s (Inn) and I saw directly that it was the Woodplumpton Band and they began playing very well, considering as there were but eight of them beside the drummer”.
They performed at Woodplumpton Club Day in 1841 and in 1845 when they again played at Goosnargh festivities on Whit Tuesday they were described as Woodplumpton Brass Band.
The band played again at Goosnargh in 1846 and in 1847 when "After dinner at the Grapes Inn came the toasts and then the proceedings were enlivened by the merry strains of the excellent Woodplumpton Band which played at intervals throughout the afternoon.”
The final performance detected was shortly after the demise of the Society when in September 1847 at the coming of age of E. H. Stanley the celebrations by his tenants at Treales included a procession headed by the Woodplumpton Band. This undertaking had probably been agreed some time before the demise of the Society.
Although the Friendly Society had ceased to exist and with it The Woodplumpton Band, it is very likely that the individual musicians continued in their endeavours as the musical tradition was flourishing in the area at this time, but that is another story!
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