The data are sorted to optimize accessibility, on the first three fields.
Field-list – with some notes about their contents.
(Ignore the “EventListID” column at the left – the record number)
County Usually the same as the volume name in the REED series, but not always (eg Cumberland, Westmorland, Gloucestershire, or the counties in Wales).
Location Usually a borough or city, but could be a college at Oxford/Cambridge, a guild in a city, a household, etc – whatever is the organization immediately responsible for the record.
From Date The beginning of the accounting year/period covered by the records, or a more precise date if such has been ascertained.
To Date The ending of the accounting year/period. If this is less than a year after the From Date, it has been possible to determine during what part of a year the event occurred. If the To Date is the same as the From Date, it means that a precise date has been determined for the event/record in question. In these cases, a precise day of the week has been found (given below, see the “Day of Week” column).
The following columns contain data elements on which users can use filters to isolate particular types of information (see Filters to Find Information).
Event Type What type of record is it? Performance, Dismissal, Prohibition, Prosecution, Regulation, Rental of Hall, etc. ‘Composite’ indicates payment(s) to more than one type of performer, more than one performance, an annual summary payment, or the like, rather than a record referring to a single event.
Performer Type Player(s), minstrel(s), wait(s), etc etc. Singular performers are distinguished from groups, if more than a single performer is indicated. There are a bewildering variety of performers and combinations of performers!
Wherefrom Records indicate, in about 20% of instances, where particular performers or troupes came from, particularly ‘Waits’ (professional borough or city musicians). Combined with the County/Location fields, these data give some idea of the distances travelled by performers/troupes.
Auspices The type of organization making the payment for the event in question, or exercising control over it (Civic, Household, College, etc).
Performance Space If known from the record; e.g., Hall, Booth Hall, College, Guildhall, Private House etc. Often blank because the space is not specified.
NumPerformers Usually blank, because number of performers is not specified.
Payment Amount in £.s.d. If it refers to money received from the performers (eg, for renting a hall, paying for damage, etc) it is expressed as a minus number. Multiple sums, separated by commas, indicate that multiple different payments are combined in this composite record of a year’s activity.
Perquisite In £.s.d. Payments for wine, food, lodging, etc. Usually blank.
Other Date If a particular date is mentioned in a record (eg, a saint’s day, etc) it is given here.
Day of Week If a precise date is indicated by either ‘Other Date’, or by agreement of the From/To dates, the day of the week on which the date fell is given here.
Event Memo Gives further information about the events, often quoting an excerpt from the records text
Volume REED volume in which the reference is found. If from an online collection the collection name is given.
Vol Page Page # in REED volume. Online collections have no pagination, so this is always “0”.
Return to The Datasheet, explained, or
Performers Without Patrons 