Between the years 1882 and 1888, the composer proposed marriage to no less than four young women. He fell deeply in love with the first, Helen Jessie Weaver, a childhood friend in Worcester. She emigrated to New Zealand, almost breaking Elgar's heart in the process.

The second, Gertrude Walker, was born in Harrogate in 1861. Ernie – using Settle as a base for personal inquiries – has made good progress in understanding the status and life of the third, who was Sarah Ann Wilkinson Newsholme, of Hellifield. Hence the recent visit.

In 1888, Elgar married Catherine Alice Roberts, the fourth young woman to whom he proposed. She was somewhat older than he and, more to the point, was an Anglican from a well-connected family when he was a Catholic. In a long taped interview, Wulstan Atkins, the godson of Elgar, told me of regular meetings with the ageing Elgar and of the joyous years when a friendship with Dr Charles William Buck, of Giggleswick, introduced him to the Yorkshire Dales.

Full of fun, in the early 1880s the two young men "hunted" cats on Giggleswick Scars. Elgar gloried in Craven's impressive waterfalls. At his Worcestershire home, he had a framed photograph of Stainforth packhorse bridge, which spans the Ribble. Elgar recalled in a letter to Buck the taste of freshly-caught Ribble trout.

It was Buck who introduced Elgar to the Newsholme family of Hellifield Green. Ernie Blamire's researches thus far indicate that following the death of her mother, Sarah Ann, a daughter aged 31, inherited her domestic responsibilities.

At Hellifield, Elgar's music skills were admired. His tennis ability left much to be desired.

Four years after they first met, and with no hope of marrying Helen Weaver, Elgar returned to Yorkshire and fixed his attention on Sarah Ann – without success.

To John Wilkinson Newsholme, her strict father, this young man was, on religious, social and economic grounds, an unsuitable match. He declared: "I will not allow one of my daughters to marry a penniless musician."

The full story of Elgar's romances, which is being compiled by Ernie Blamires, is long and complex.

Ernie has already written about Helen Weaver, Elgar's first great love. He proposes to write a paper on his latest research. Patricia Hurst, a prominent member of the Elgar Society in the North West, shares his interest in Elgar's associations with the Yorkshire Dales.