At Fylde Folk festival in 2009 it's 37th year, a tune session was held that was devoted to the music from the Northwest of England. The first of a kind and first of many we hope and better late than never. The following information was collated by Jenny Coxon and it is with her approval it is replicated here.
If you know any of this information is inaccurate or incomplete then we'd be very pleased to amend it. Please contact me.

“As a rule of thumb I think of the Northwest as comprising those areas where the water drains off into the Irish Sea – a little bit of Shropshire, a little bit of Staffordshire, a little bit of Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmorland – to use the old county names. For geographical and historical reasons, much of the music has more in common with that of Ireland and Southern Scotland than with southern English music. The reasons go back to the Dark Ages and beyond. The Celtic kingdoms of the far north-west, because of their remoteness and mountainous terrain, had been able to resist the Roman incursions into England more successfully than their neighbours to the south; so when the Romans left and the Anglo-Saxons came, Celtic society continued in the north-west while it rapidly collapsed in the rest of England. Subsequently it succumbed to later Norse invasions, but the result was a culture which differed from the southern English, and lasting effects of this difference can still be traced today in traditional music as in dialect, place-names, surnames and many other features.” Greg Stephens.

A Bibliography of some Collections of Music from Northern English Sources.

N.B. O/P = Out of print.

Date: Title: Author: Publisher: Comments:
1973 Down Back o' t' Shoddy. Bob Schofield & Julian Pilling. EFDSS. Tunes & Dances. possibly O/P.
1985 A First Collection of Yorkshire Dance Music. David Ashton & Chris Dyson. unknown Adapted from a collection in the V.W. Mem. Lib. dated 1752. It pre-dates and is not part of the Jackson collection.
1988 Northern Frisk. A Treasury of Tunes from North West England. Compiled by J.Knowles, P.Knowles and I.McGrady. Dragonfly Music. From NW collections compiled during the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries. O/P
1993 The Joseph Kershaw Manuscript. The Music of a 19th century Saddleworth Fiddle Player. J.Knowles. INWAC publishing. O/P. Original in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
1994 One Too Many. 22 New Tunes. Ian Ball, Mossley. Ian Ball, Mossley. 20th century melodeon player and dance musician.
1994 Lawrence Leadley : The Fiddler of Helperby.The Life and Music of a Yorkshire Fiddler. James Merryweather & Matt Seattle. Dragonfly Music. ISBN 1-872277-18-7
1995 A Northern Lass. Traditional Dance Music of Northwest England. Compiled and edited by J.Knowles. Dave Mallinson Publications. ISBN 1-899512-16-0 O/P.
1997 The Plain Brown Tune Book. A Collection of Muisc from Saddleworth. James Merryweather & Matt Seattle. Plain Brown Publishing Co. Tunes from the Ellis Knowles MSS c.1847 Lancs., tunes from other sources, tunes in the repertoire of the Plain Brown Wrapper Band and tunes by band members.ISMN M-9002006-0-0
1997 The Joshua Gibbons Manuscript. Edited by Peter Sumner. Breakfast Publications. Tunes from a variety of sources collected in Tealby between 1823 and 1826 by Joshua Gibbons, a papermaker.
1997 The South Riding Tune Book. Compiled and edited by Paul Davenport. The South Riding Folk Network. ISBN 0-9529857-0-5
1997 The Second South Riding Tune Book. Compiled and edited by Paul Davenport. The South Riding Folk Network. ISBN 0-9529857-0-5
1998 Tunes, Songs and Dances from the 1798 manuscript of Joshua Jackson. Cornmiller and Musician. Bowen & Shepherd Yorkshire Dales Workshops. ISBN 1-897925-17-4
2000 The Urban Fiddler. Compiled and edited by Paul Davenport. The South Riding Folk Network.  
2000 Mr. Kynaston's Famous Dance. Andrew Shaw, with Paul Hutchinson & Paul Sartin. With CD/cassette.Altrincham. 12 Dance Tunes from The Nathaniel Kynaston Collection (1709-28) and The Beggar's Opera (1728) Accompanied by Andrew Shaw's Manual of the same name, containing dance steps & facsimiles and transcriptions of the music.
2002 Rattle and Roll. Brian Peters. Glossop. Tunes from the repertoire of a twentieth century traditional musician. Brian’s own compositions, plus traditional pieces from the north of England and some from Wales.
2000 Mr. Kynaston's Famous Dance.Vol. 2 Andrew Shaw, with Paul Hutchinson & Paul Sartin.    
2004 Furness Tradition Tune Book. Compiled by Mike Kermode. Ulverston.  
2006 Trip to Friezland. traditional Tunes from the Northwest of England arranged for ceilidh dancing. Paul Walker. Paul Walker. Traditional NW tunes arranged for dancing.
2007 Three Extraordinary Collections. Early 18th Century Dance Music for Those That Play Publick. Compiled and edited by Pete Stewart. Hornpipe Music, Pentcaitland. Thomas Marsden's Collection - 1705, Daniel Wright's Collection - c.1715 and John Walsh's Collection - c.1730.
2008 John of the Green, The Cheshire Way. The famous triple-time hornpipes of Northwest England with a selection of country dance tunes of the Baroque era. Compiled by John Offord. Green Man Music. (1st ed. 1985) ISBN 978-0-9556324-0-2
2008 The Great Northern Tune Book. William Vickers Collection of Dance Tunes AD1770. Edited by Matt Seattle. Published by EFDSS in association with the Northumbrian Piper's Society. ISBN 978-0-85418-201-5. Second edition. First edition published in three volumes 1986/1987.
2008 Edward Winder, His Tune Book, 1834. at Greenbank Wyresdale. Transcribed and researched by Chris Harvey Pollington & Lindsay Smith. Green Man Music. Published on enhanced CD. Microfilmed copy in Liverpool University Library.
2010 The Thomas Watts Manuscript. Peak District.     Soon to be published by INWAC.

Some Northwest music sessions where English music is played – for some or all of the night.

NB. Many of these venues are friendly CAMRA pubs with lots of character.

Mondays

Old Bridge Inn, Priest Lane, Ripponden, HX6 4DF Tel: 01422 822595. Weekly.
The Royal Hotel, Main Road, Dungworth, Bradfield, Sheffield S6 6HF. Tel: 0114 285 1479. 2nd Monday.
Edgworth Cricket Club, Bolton Road, Edgworth, Bolton BL7 0AP Tel: 01204 853374. 3rd Monday.

Tuesdays

Ring O Bells Inn, Northwich Road, Lr. Stretton, Warrington, Ches. WA4 4NZ Tel: 01925 730556. 1st Tuesday.
Lakeland Fiddlers at Hawkshead Brewery, Staveley, Cumbria LA8 9LR Tel: 01539 822332. 2nd Tuesday.

Wednesdays

Bulls Head, Mill Lane, Mobberley, Cheshire WA16 7HX Tel: 01565 873134 1st & 3rd Wednesdays.
Ye Olde Vic, 1 Chatham St, Edgeley, Stockport, Ches. SK3 9ED Tel: 0161 480 2410. 2nd, 4th, & 5th Wednesdays

Thurdays

Swan Inn (the Top House), Square, Dobcross, Oldham, Lancashire, OL3 5AA Tel: 01457 873451. Weekly.
Black Lion, 29 Welsh Row, Nantwich, CW5 5ED Tel: 01270 628 711. Weekly.
Gregson Centre, 33 Moorgate, Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 3PY Tel: 01524 849959. In Olive Bar. Weekly.

Fridays

Harrington Arms, Gawsworth, Macclesfield, Ches. SK11 9RR Gawsworth. Tel: 08721 077077. Weekly.

Sundays

The Dressers Arms Briers Brow, Wheelton, Chorley, Lancashire, PR6 8HD Tel: 01254 830041. Weekly.
The Crown, Worthington, Standish, Wigan, Lancs. WN1 2XF Tel: 0800 686678. 2nd Sunday 12.00 noon – 3.00pm.

Regular Sessions in South Lakeland

Storytelling

Watermill at Ings, South Lakeland. First Tuesday each month. Good food, good beer - and stories!

Lakeland Fiddlers Session.

Carolyn Francis and The Lakeland Fiddlers hold a session once a month (second Tuesday) at the Hawkshead Brewery Bar in the Mill Yard, Staveley

Music & song session

The Lamplighter, Windermere. Every Wednesday.

Furness Tradition Session

The Old Friends, Soutergate, Ulverston. Second Thursday in month - irregular so check first

Singing

Prince of Wales, Foxfield. Second and fourth Wednesday in month.
Black Dog, Dalton In Furness. Every Tuesday.

IMPORTANT: Always phone the venue before setting off to check it's still running!