The Freemantle Collection

The Freemantle Collection

Guide to the Freemantle Collection in the Leeds University Special Collections and the significant materials that can be found within.

Charles Dibdin

Charles Dibdin's comic operas. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Charles Dibdin's 'Table Entertainments'

Charles Dibdin's one-man shows. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Dr. Benjamin Cooke's Protest

Dr. Benjamin Cooke protests at losing his post. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

E. J. Loder's 'Manfred'

E. J. Loder's musical setting of Manfred. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

W. T. Freemantle the composer

W. T. Freemantle as a composer. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Mendelssohn's 'Christe du Lamm Gottes'

Autograph score of Mendelssohn's 'Christe du Lamm Gottes'. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Mendelssohn's 'Allegro Brillante'

Mendelssohn's early compositional sketch 'Allegro Brillante'. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Mendelssohn's 'Auf Einer Gondel' and 'Elijah'

Mendelssohn's 'Elijah' and 'Auf Einer Gondel'. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Symington the 'thief'!

John Alexander Symington and the Library of Congress. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

The music manuscripts and publications collected by William Thomas Freemantle comprise one of the most important music collections in Leeds Special Collections. The materials were purchased by Lord Brotherton from the personal library of William Thomas Freemantle (1849-1931) who was a musician, author and collector from Sheffield.

This exhibition will be a guide through the collection, highlighting some of the more significant materials that researchers can find within the archive. Freemantle had a particular interest in 18th and 19th century English music, especially for choral and church settings. He also gathered a large amount of materials on Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, who was the composer who first sparked his interest in collecting.

This online exhibition was created by Joe Whelan, an Undergraduate BA Music student as part of a Lord Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholarship, September 2016.