The Origins of the East Lincolnshire Dialect Society - Far Welter'd

The Origins of Far Welter'd

One evening in July 1999, I was enjoying a pint in a pub in Louth with a few friends, and we were lamenting the fact that the number of Lincolnshire dialect speakers was on the wane. In the not too distant future there might be very few, if any, left, which would be a great shame. We agreed that something ought to be done about it.

An article went in the local paper inviting people of a similar mind to meet, with a view to establishing a society that would celebrate and promote the dialect. Half a dozen people responded, and the East Lincolnshire Dialect Society was founded, with monthly meetings taking place in quiet corners of local pubs. Note that it’s ‘East Lincolnshire’, recognising the significant variations in the dialect within the county. We also came up with an unofficial title: Far Welter’d.

Now, Far Welter'd has around 100 members and a permanent home in the Great Carlton social club near Louth.

We meet there four times a year, and also give performances all around the county to a wide range of organisations and societies, as well as the annual Wolds Words (Wods!) festival. We are also a founder member of the National Dialect Festival, which we hosted in Louth in 2011.

In the early days, most of the poems and stories read out at our gatherings were by established poets, most of them no longer with us. Since our involvement with the national festival, several of our members have taken to writing their own material. In 2015, we published ‘Inder-ends, a book and CD.

‘Inder-ends’ and this website represent Far Welter’d’s legacy to future generations. Just think, in years to come, when there really are no more Lincolnshire dialect speakers left, if a young person in East Lincolnshire wants to hear how their great grandparents used to speak, they’ll just download a file. Job done!