# Barwick Green

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Theme music to the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers

Barwick Maypole

"**Barwick Green**" [/ˈbærɪk/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) is the [theme music](/source/Theme_music) to the long-running [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4) [soap opera](/source/Soap_opera) *[The Archers](/source/The_Archers)*. A "[maypole dance](/source/Maypole_dance)" from the suite *My Native Heath* written in 1924 by the [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire) composer [Arthur Wood](/source/Arthur_Wood_(composer)), it is named after [Barwick-in-Elmet](/source/Barwick-in-Elmet) in Yorkshire's West Riding.[1]

[Barwick Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barwick_Green.ogg)

A piece of Barwick Green as used in *The Archers*

*Problems playing this file? See [media help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Media).*

The recording used between 1950 and the 1990s was played by [Sidney Torch](/source/Sidney_Torch) and his orchestra. It was produced by [George Martin](/source/George_Martin).[2] Sidney Torch recorded a commercial version of "Barwick Green" in the 1950s, but it was not used on *The Archers* itself.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

The familiar opening 7 notes are echoed in the pizzicato in [Benjamin Britten](/source/Benjamin_Britten)'s *[Simple Symphony](/source/Simple_Symphony)*, written in 1934.

The Sunday [omnibus](/source/Omnibus_(broadcast)) broadcast of *The Archers* starts with a more [rustic](/source/Pastoral), [accordion](/source/Accordion)-arranged rendition by [The Yetties](/source/The_Yetties),[3][4] while [BBC Radio 4 Extra](/source/BBC_Radio_4_Extra)'s former spinoff, *[Ambridge Extra](/source/Ambridge_Extra)*, used a version arranged by [Bellowhead](/source/Bellowhead).[5]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Feedback". *Autumn 2007*. 5 October 2007. BBC Radio 4.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Sidney Torch & Orchestra - Barwick Green (Archers Theme)"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gj2tq). *bbc.co.uk*. BBC. 21 April 2011. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220512065636/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00gj2tq) from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** The Yetties (1997). *Upmarket*. Track 1. Decca SKL 5282.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Gonsalves, Rebecca (1 January 2011). ["60 things you never knew you wanted to know about The Archers"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/60-things-you-never-knew-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-archers-2173365.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. Independent Print Limited. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110104053312/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/60-things-you-never-knew-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-archers-2173365.html) from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Heritage, Stuart (5 April 2011). ["TV theme tunes: don't mess with the best"](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/apr/05/tv-theme-tunes). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131001001212/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/apr/05/tv-theme-tunes) from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

## External links

- [Item about Wood and "Barwick Green"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b012078w) on [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4)'s *[Front Row](/source/Front_Row_(radio_programme))*, 24 June 2011, at 18m27s. By chance, the clip begins with the final seconds of the evening's *The Archers*, so *Barwick Green* is heard.

v t e The Archers Characters Jennifer Aldridge Grace Archer Jill Archer Pat Archer Phil Archer Ruth Archer Christine Barford Neil Carter Nelson Gabriel Shula Hebden Lloyd Mike Tucker Peggy Woolley See also Ambridge Extra "Barwick Green" Borchester Borsetshire

Authority control databases MusicBrainz work

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barwick Green](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barwick_Green) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barwick_Green?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.