Amy Joyner – A Barnsley Soprano

The 8^th March was International Women’s day, and this latest Barnsley Museums Blog was published just in time to celebrate the life of a fabulous lady, who I must confess I knew very little about.

Guest blogger, Jane Ainsworth, explores the fascinating life of Soprano Amy Joyner who during the First World War raised money through charity concerts and spent five days in France entertaining the troops.

Amy Amelia Joyner was born in 1880 in Barnsley, the oldest of the five surviving children of Henry Joyner, Coal Miner, and Eliza (nee Jaques) owner of a general dealer shop. Amy qualified as a ‘Professor of Singing’ at the age of 20, after studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She married Archibald William Jarman, Colliery Clerk, in 1906 and they lived at 57 Hopwood Street, Barnsley.

Amy experienced much tragedy in her life. Five younger siblings were under the age of 5 when they died, and although still young herself, Amy would have been acutely aware of the loss. It must have been a painful reminder for her mother when she had to complete the 1911 Census and record that five of her ten children had died.

Despite her own sadness, Amy gave a great deal of pleasure to others. She was a soprano vocalist and Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM), known professionally as ‘Madame Joyner’. She established a number of choirs across Barnsley and was involved with that in Cudworth for 23 years, and along with her husband, was part of the Choral Society in Cawthorne.  Read more about Amy’s life at Amy Joyner: A Barnsley Soprano – Barnsley Museums Blogsite (art.blog)