Papers of Muriel Mann relating to Granville Bantock

Material concerning the [then largely secret] relationship between Muriel Angus Mann and the composer Sir Granville Bantock. Includes correspondence from Bantock to Muriel, programmes for concerts performed by Bantock, newspaper articles about Bantock, music scores, and some photographs, including an album depicting Bantock's trip to Sri Lanka in 1937. The correspondence covers 1936-1940 and documents Bantock and Muriel's love affair, and his involvement with her and her three daughters. The letters detail Bantock's travels as well as his interest in music and concerts. There are some periods when letters were not written, perhaps notably when Bantock spent time with Muriel, in early 1939, in Charleston and Sapphire, North Carolina.

The collection also includes a sapphire ring that Bantock gave to Muriel and which she wore until her death; papers relating to Muriel's Honorary Degree from Trinity College of Music, London; sheet music with the initials 'MAB' added ['MAB' meaning 'Muriel Angus Bantock', the couples' code]; and the score for 'Memories of Sapphire' that was written for Muriel in February 1939.

Whilst the date span of the collection is 1909-Late twentieth century, the majority of the material dates from between 1936 and 1940, the period in which Bantock and Muriel's relationship took place.

Granville Bantock and Muriel Angus Mann first met on 29 May 1936 whilst Bantock was in Charleston giving examinations in piano theory and practice for the Trinity College of Music (London). The pair had an instant connection, and they appear to have bonded over a shared passion for music. The couple would go on to have a romantic love affair lasting from 1936 to 1940, with Bantock visiting and spending time at Muriel’s summer home in the North Carolina mountains (Sapphire) when his career and travels would allow. Sapphire would become the backdrop for Bantock’s ‘Memories of Sapphire’, which was inspired by his time there with Muriel.

Muriel was born and raised in Canada. She married English-born Geoffrey Mann in 1918, and moved with her new husband to Charleston soon after. In the years preceding her 1936 meeting with Bantock, Muriel was in the midst of an unpleasant divorce, and raising her three teenage daughters - Frances, Muriel (known as Sis or Sister) and Catherine. She had taught piano and had dreams of a career in music, but this had fallen by the wayside since becoming a mother.

During the years of their romance, Bantock provided for Muriel and her daughters financially, and the couple wrote constantly, updating each other on their lives whilst apart. Bantock’s letters are a testament to the passion and intensity of their affair. As the Second World War loomed over Europe, Bantock and Muriel were forced apart, and in 1940, Muriel married Robert Totten, putting an end to their affair. Muriel continued to hold feelings for Bantock throughout her life, and wore the sapphire ring given to her by him until her death in 1970.

Sources: papers of Muriel Mann relating to Granville Bantock; information supplied by the depositor; information from 'My Dear Rogue': Sir Granville Banock's secret romance that influenced the music of one of Britain's greatest 20th century composers', edited by Katherine de Marne Werner (2013).

The collection is arranged in five series:

/1 Correspondence to Muriel Mann

/2 Papers and ephemera relating to Granville Bantock's musical career

/3 Photographs

/4 Printed sheet music

/5 Miscellaneous

Open, access to all registered researchers

Presented, January 2022

Please see [INSERT LINK HERE] for more information

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director, Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. The Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Following the death of Muriel Totton (nee Mann) in 1970, the material came into the possession of her daughter, Muriel (Sis) and then to Sis' daughter, Katherine (Kitty) Werner.

Archive collections relating to Granville Bantock, and held at the Cadbury Research Library, include:

Granville Bantock Collection. Finding Number: GB

Papers of Granville Bantock: MS140

Francis Brett Young Manuscript Collection. Finding Number: FBY

Letters Additional Collection: Late-19th Century - Mid-20th Century. Finding Number: Ladd

Raymond Bantock Collection. Finding Number: MS63

Josef Holbrooke Collection. Finding Number: MS79

Papers of Alphonse Mingana: Correspondence A-B. Finding Number: DA66/1/3/2/2

Papers of Sir Edward Elgar, Lady Caroline Alice Elgar and Carice Elgar Blake: Diaries of Sir Edward Elgar. Finding Number: EE

Papers of Christopher Evans: papers 1921-1975. Finding Number: CE

Papers of Herman Sutherland Bantock. Finding Number: MS33

Photographs and books of music presented by Miss Fiedler. Finding Number: MS787

Papers of Percy Young: Printed Copy of Granville Bantock's manuscript 'Pagan Symphony' orchestral score. Finding Number: MS860

Music Manuscripts Collection: Mozart's Don Giovanni notated by Granville Bantock. Finding Number: Music Ms 5040

Papers of Neville Chamberlain. Finding Number: NC

University Archives: Papers relating to war work of University of Birmingham staff, 1919-1920. Finding Number: UB/VP/2/1

Letters from Granville Bantock and Edward Elgar to Ernest Newman. Finding Number: MS182

Papers of Muriel Mann relating to Granville Bantock. Finding Number: MS1033

My Dear Rogue: Sir Granville Banock's secret romance that influenced the music of one of Britain's greatest 20th century composers', edited by Katherine de Marne Werner, Distinction Press: Waitsfield, Vermont, 2013. CRL reference: r ML410.B25