Wilfred Bloor papers

email: Helen Burton - special.collections@keele.ac.uk      tel: +44 (0)1782 733237

Wilfred Bloor (1915-1993) was born and bred in the Potteries and spent his working life researching the effects of dust in the pottery industry. His interest in different dialects, and especially that of North Staffordshire, led to his creation of the character Jabez, whose stories portray life in a rural mining village in the early twentieth century. As well as performing and recording the stories, under the pseudonym A. Scott, Bloor wrote over 400 ‘Jabez tales’ in Potteries dialect for the local Sentinel newspaper.

The Wilfred Bloor collection, generously donated by the Bloor family in 1993, comprises manuscript and typescript articles, cuttings, correspondence and audio recordings, dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. The material is owned by Keele, is partially listed, and there are no restrictions on access.

Following the University Library's participation in the British Library’s ‘Unlocking Our Sound Heritage’ project, all the ‘Jabez’ recordings have now been digitally preserved and catalogued. A selection of audio stories and transcripts are available online at:

Jabez : recordings in North Staffordshire dialect

For detailed listings of all the Jabez recordings, please contact the Archives.

Wilfred Bloor collection summary (513 KB)

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To buy Jabez album I or II, please contact the Archives by email: special.collections@keele.ac.uk or tel: +44 (0)1782 733237.
The CDs are priced £10.00 each including postage within the UK.

Jabez album I (1980) artwork Jabez Album I (1980)

Jabez album II (1988) Jabez Album II (1988)