HARPISTS COMMEMORATE TRAGEDY

Two Welsh harpists, Rhiain Bebb and Huw Roberts, performed in Tarff and Twynholm Parish Church, Dumfries and Galloway, in May to commemorate a tragedy which occurred nearby.

In April 1816, blind Welsh musician Hugh Pritchard, his wife and five children arrived in Twynholm but were unable to find accommodation so they sheltered in a sand quarry. Sadly, in the night the side of the quarry collapsed, killing the whole family. They were buried in an unmarked grave in Twynholm cemetery.

In 1871, four Stewartry ministers combined to erect a headstone over the grave. Later, folk story and song collector Joseph Train recorded the tale and passed it on to Sir Walter Scott, who incorporated Hugh Pritchard into his book “Red Gauntlet” as the travelling musician Wandering Willie. A second headstone was erected in 1946 by the Galloway Association of Glasgow, which recorded the family name and the link to “Red Gauntlet”.

After the concert in the church, there was a short service beside the grave led by the Rev Val Ott. The harpists then played and laid roses in memory of the family.