New River Shanty Crew

The New River Shanty Crew is a fun, friendly and inclusive folk and shanty group for all abilities based at the lovely Shaftesbury Hall in Herbert Road, London N11 2QN.

The Crew meet on Thursdays from 1.30 to 3pm and the next term runs from 23 April to 21st May 2026.

The fee for each meeting is £7 but you can have a taster session for free. Do come along and give it a go!

Skipper Ailsa Mainwaring had been edging towards starting a local community choir after discovering her skill in leading informal singarounds. Some raucous car singing on a family holiday in Ireland with The Longest Johns on full blast led her Father-in-Law to comment that he wished there was a local shanty group he could join.

Ailsa dutifully set up the Shanty Crew a few months later in September 2023 with First Mate Nick Siepmann coming aboard. December of that year saw their maiden voyage at Bowes Park Folk Club, and over the next few months they became familiar faces in the community, performing at other local events and growing steadily in number. They were recently featured in an article in Folk London magazine, and will be appearing at Weston Super Mare shanty festival, among others, in 2026.

Ailsa’s Father-in-Law has yet to make it to more than one rehearsal, but the New River Shanty Crew has grown into a warm and caring family.With a solid grounding in classical music, and degrees from both the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School, Ailsa leads with a firm musical hand on the tiller. The high quality singing produced by the Crew would grace any stage, and they are rightfully proud of their sound. But the focus is always on participation and the joy of singing together, whether embracing an audience, or simply sharing musical fellowship.