Bobby Shafto

Robert Shafto (sometimes spelt Shaftoe) was an 18th Century British Member of Parliament (MP) and beau who was the likeliest subject of a famous North East English folk song (Roud #1359) and nursery rhyme "Bobby Shafto".

:"Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,:"Silver buckles on his knee;:"He'll come back and marry me,:"Bonny Bobby Shafto!

:"Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,:"Combing down his yellow hair;:"He's my love for evermair," [A local dialect or possibly Scottish pronunciation of "evermore".] :"Bonny Bobby Shafto! [Anon, "A Beuk o' Newcassel Sangs". Joseph Cawhall, 1888]

Biography

Robert Shafto was born in 1732 [The date of his birth appears to be contradictory from a number of sources. [http://www.whitworthhall.co.uk/history/morehistory.htm Whitworth Hall] claims it to be 1730, but the majority claim 1732.] at his family seat of Whitworth near Spennymoor in County Durham. The Shafto family had long been involved in politics, with both his father John Shafto and uncle Robert Shafto being Members of Parliament (MPs). [ [http://www.thenortheast.fsnet.co.uk/Surnames%20of%20North%20East%20England.htm#SHAFTO North Eastern surnames website] , URL accessed September 30th, 2006] He continued this tradition becoming MP for County Durham in 1760, using his nickname Bonny Bobby Shafto and the now famous song for electioneering purposes, a seat he held until 1768. He was later to become MP for the borough of Downton in Wiltshire.

The song is said to relate the story of how he broke the heart of Bridget Belasyse of Brancepeth Castle, County Durham, where his brother Thomas was rector, when he married Anne Duncombe of Duncombe Park in Yorkshire instead. Bridget Belasyse is said to have died two weeks after hearing the news, [ [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/eecsb.nsf/a/famous_names?opendocument Famous North Eastern names] , URL accessed September 30th, 2006] although other sources claim that she died a fortnight before the wedding of pulmonary tuberculosis. [ [http://www.whitworthhall.co.uk/history/morehistory.htm Whitworth Hall history] , URL accessed September 30th, 2006]

He married Anne Duncombe on 18 April 1774, and is said to have spent her personal fortune. In Baron Feversham's opinion the countless young ladies whom he jilted on his return from his travels enjoyed "a lucky escape". [ [http://www.duncombepark.com/other_rooms.shtml Duncombe Park website] , URL accessed September 30th, 2006]

The exact date of Anne's death is uncertain, but is believed to have been shortly after July 1784. She was buried at Downton. Robert Shafto died in November 1797, and is buried in the Shafto family crypt beneath the floor of Whitworth Church. [ [http://www.whitworthhall.co.uk/history/morehistory.htm Whitworth Hall history] , URL accessed September 30th, 2006]

They had three children, John, Robert, and Thomas. Robert Shafto was the last of the male line of the branch of the family and who lived at Benwell Towers, near Newcastle upon Tyne. Thomas & George Allan, in their illustrated edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings (1891), have argued that the "Bobby Shafto" of the song was in fact his son, although his father fits the description of the lyrics better. [ [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/eecsb.nsf/a/famous_names?opendocument Famous North Eastern names] , giving this opinion. URL accessed September 30th, 2006] In reality, it is likely that his grandson, Robert Duncombe Shafto, also used the song for electioneering in 1861, with several of the later verses being added around this time. [ [http://www.whitworthhall.co.uk/history/morehistory.htm Whitworth Hall history] , URL accessed September 30th, 2006]

Literary

The rhyme "Bobby Shafto" is a theme in several literary works. It is sung (incorrectly) in "The Moor's Last Sigh" by Salman Rushdie. Bobby Shaftoe is also the name of a (female) character in John Crowley's novel "Love & Sleep" as well as Neal Stephenson's novel "Cryptonomicon" and an ancestor of his in Stephenson's "The Baroque Cycle" Both of Stephenson's characters are likely literary winks at both earlier references. The TV series "The 4400" episode "The Marked" also mentioned a fictitious movie in which a character, an ex-marine called Robert Shafto, was named as the killer of JFK, likely a reference to Cryptonomicon, where Bobby Shaftoe was also a marine.

Musical

The tune to which the rhyme is usually sung is almost better known than the rhyme itself. Certainly few people can recite all the verses from memory. Most learn only the first verse and the chorus as children, but the tune is instantly recognized, especially in North-eastern England. It was included in the "Three Rivers Fantasy" by composer Arthur Wilkinson, a piece written to be used as the daily opening theme for Tyne Tees Television. [ [http://www.transdiffusion.org/tmc/cityroad/people/arthurwilkinson.php Arthur Wilkinson tribute] by Gavin Sutherland, URL accessed July 1, 2008]

Philosophical

In "Moral Realism", philosopher Peter Railton references a hypothetical Bobby Shaftoe in describing what he refers to as instrumental rationality.

References

External links

* [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/eecsb.nsf/a/famous_names?opendocument Famous North Eastern people]
* [http://www.abcgallery.com/R/reynolds/reynolds45.html Portrait of his son, Robert] by Sir Joshua Reynolds
* [http://www.geocities.com/matalzi/bshaf.mid Midi file] of "Bobby Shafto"