Variations of Name | John Armstrong of Carrick |
Biography | John Armstrong of Carrick was a farmer, huntsman, stick dresser and traditional musician.
He played Northumbrian pipes as a young man, and in later life the fiddle. The Armstrong family claims an unbroken tradition of Northumbrian piping going back at least four generations. The Clough family visited the Armstrong family home at Raylees for several years, just after the First World War, and John often played duets there with Tom Clough. He also played regularly with Billy Pigg, who wrote several tunes named for him and his family, The Carrick Hornpipe, Raylees, Mary Armstrong, Jane of Biddlestone, Anne's Wedding and John of Carrick. John, with his sister Annie Snaith, and Billy Pigg, played regularly at events in the area, becoming known as The Border Minstrels. They were joined in 1938 by Archie Dagg. |