The Ordsall Consort

History

The Ordsall Consort was formed in 2001. Michael Billington and Bob Cross, both of the disbanded folk group Rebec, teamed up with John Gibson and David Holdridge to work on a programme of early music to perform in suitable venues. Only two concerts were performed with this line up before Bob Cross moved to New Zealand to continue his teaching career.

Originally the group was called The Ordsall Waits as a more outdoor repertoire was at first envisaged. The name Ordsall comes from the Tudor building in Salford Ordsall Hall where the group performed in their early days.

With the departure of Bob Cross the band enlisted the services of Bob Foster to complete a four piece woodwind ensemble. With the repertoire expanding to include five and six part pieces it was necessary to likewise expand the line up and Andrew Mays and Roger Child were added.

A more indoor repertoire developed and it was decided that the "Waits" element of the group’s title was a little inaccurate and so the band was renamed The Ordsall Consort.