Origins of Northwest Morris

Subject: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 08 May 04 - 02:16 PM

Ok I surrender on the pursuit of what 19C morris dancers thought they were up to and return to a connected question.

I have a copy of 'Lancashire & Cheshire Morris Dances, collected and edited by Johhn Graham, published by Curwen & Sons. This gives lots of detail and history taking Northwest back around 500 years.

Does this suggest that Northwest evolved into clogs from what we now cal 'Cotswold' perhaps better 'Mediaeval Morris' with the Industrial Revolution?

What then?

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 08 May 04 - 02:47 PM

Don't know about that, but the morris dances from Lichfield (Staffordshire) are for 8 men rather than 6 as in the usual Cotswold format.
It has been commented that this may in part be a transition between aspects of the southern and northern modes of dance.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 08 May 04 - 04:13 PM

The Graham book was published in 1911, and all I know about it is that the notation is considered ambiguous and unhelpful nowadays. Perhaps you could tell us something about what the book actually says? At the moment, your question appears to depend on everybody knowing what is in the book and whether or not it is accurate. Your last morris thread didn't really result in any substantive comment (though some of the anecdotes were entertaining) and you might be better off reading some more recent studies of the subject first.

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 08 May 04 - 05:26 PM

Graham's book contains music and dance notation of some dances, I believe, from the pennines, Royton, Colne, Mossley etc. I'm working from memory, I'm sure I had a copy but I can't find it.

The pe-amble describes written sources where the dance is mentioned in the NW but doesn't make any connection between early references, e.g. morris dancing and may games being forbidded by Cromwell, and later references mostly to Rushcarts with morris dancers.

I remember Rodger Bryant (the current keeper of the Manchester Morris Archive) telling me that the earliest reference to NW morris which can be connected to the present is about 1845. All the interviews and research carried in the 1850/60s by the likes of Bernard Bentley, Julian Pilling et al contains no references before the mid 1800s.

Pru Boswell's book on the morris dances of the Lancashire Plain also doesn't come up with any earlier references. It seems likely that the dances could be traced from the Pennine villages to the plain and into Cheshire later. The dances of Alderley Edge, Peover, Crewe etc. are relatively late. There are lots of examples of the dance moving with a leader or teacher who moved for work or when retiring.

Beware of assuming a connection from cotswold via Lichfield to NW. It doesn't hold up not least because of the doubtful provenance of the Lichfield dances.

Perhaps a more fruitful link is through Derbyshire Morris which still exists in Winster but was once more widespread. The Winster dances contain weaving figures both in 4s and in 8s which are also a part of the NW dances and there are some links in the tunes used. Both forms also exhibit influence from country dances. It might be possible to imagine an influence from migrating textile workers moving from the Derbyshire villages into the Derwent valley in the time of Arkwright and then into the NW.

Not all NW dances were (and are) done in clogs. The Leyland men were in Knutsford mayday procession only last week in there customary shoes.

Regards

Mitch

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 08 May 04 - 07:14 PM

Ok I will go and read the Graham book again

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 May 04 - 05:56 AM

I explained it once on the MDDL but for the benefit of those that are not subscribed there...

In Cotswold Morris people have postulated that the higher the steps the higher the crops will grow. It is fair to say therefore that in the North West, where coal was the main 'crop' the objective was to try and get the foot at least three feet below the ground. It has since been shown that this is nonsense. North West Morris was started by one-armed Willie Higginthorpe, the fireman at Bickershaw colliery, who's antics in trying to stamp on't'rats down't'pit were emulated by those above ground.

Well, you had to ask...

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: GUEST,Singleton Cloggers NWMT UK
Date: 09 May 04 - 06:10 AM

The North West Tradition


Morris dancing is one of the few calendar customs that are popularly seen as archetypically English and is only one of the few with a demonstrable history back to the early modern period. There are a number of references in 15th century sources, the first known being in 1458, and 1494 at least morris dancers were performing at the king's court.

                            2nd January 1494„
                            Privy purse expenses of Henry VII:
                            For playing of the Mourice daunce £2
                            (and another on 4 Feb. 1502)
                            (quoted Hazlitt, 1905: 422)


The heyday of the Morris in the North-West seems to have been the first half of the 19th century. At this time morris dancing regularly accompanied the rush cart to the Church at the annual wakes holiday in the late summer. For a long time, the North West Morris has been a processional dance, performed whilst moving along the streets. It is worth noting that in Lancashire the procession was, and in some areas still is, a favourite form of celebration. Even today the Whit Walks and annual carnival parades of Lancashire‚ towns echo this fondness for processions, and it is not surprising that the Morris fits in well with these occasions

North West Morris follows the same general pattern wherever it is found. However, versions performed by different teams vary considerably and it is usual to refer to these versions by the name of the place where they were collected or performed. In west Lancashire and the Fylde in particular, there are many traditional dances identified by their places of origin such as Fleetwood, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lytham and more uniquely Weeton and Singleton

As has been stated, the Morris has been particularly associated with the annual wakes Festivals during the nineteenth century. However there was a growing opposition to the drunkenness and fighting that often accompanied the rush cart processions. A tract written in Rochdale about 1870 says "no young woman, fit to a be wife, would ever think for a moment about having for a husband any young man that would degrade himself by putting on a fool's dress and go shouting and singing, brawling, swearing, drinking, and often fighting throughout the public streets"

Times have changes, however, and the Morris teams were decimated by the Great War and the changes that it brought with it. Fortunately, during the 1920's girls and women's teams became predominant in the north-west and since the 1930's many mixed teams have survived.   

Costume

The North West Morris is probably the most colourful of English dances. The elaborate costumes, together with the large number of dancers that take part, provide a show which stands out among crowds and noisy streets. Costumes are often decorated by rosettes, ribbons, strings of beads and badges. Headgear is often a straw hat or bowler bedecked with flowers, or a velvet cap (like a school cap) decorated with ribbons or a tassel. Clogs are almost always worn, with brass nails and eyelets and bells attached to the laces.

Clogs and clog making

Clogs were widespread in the British Isles by the mid 19th century though they have always been more popular in the north and west than elsewhere. In 1841 there were said to be 3246 clog and pattern makers in England and Wales and of these more than half resided in Lancashire.

There are very few craftsmen skilled in clog making practicing commercially but there has been a resurgence of interest in clogs and clog dance teams account for much of this demand.

Music

Where possible, music is always provided by a band which nowadays may consist of melodeons, banjos,guitars, concertinas, accordions, fiddles, flutes, etc. The revival of English folk music is well suited to morris dancing. The revival of the English folk musician is largely reliant upon a good supply of ales and a comfortable inn.

Conclusion

Who would have believed, as we are now in the new Millennium, that they're are over 750 Morris sides in the UK as well as 250 side in the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, all covering the six regional variations developed throughout the UK, namely: North West, Cotswold, Border, Molly, Longsword and Rapper.

Singleton Cloggers

North West Mixed Morris Team

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 09 May 04 - 02:10 PM

Thanks you Singleton Cloggers, authoratative and to the point.

Do you think Northwest evolved into clogs from what we now call 'Cotswold' perhaps better 'Mediaeval Morris' with the Industrial Revolution?

Does Northwest have the same origin as 'Cotswold' or as I think some people believe, it was re-created out of bits of other dances, in the Northwest to meet a social need in the newly created, industrialised towns and in fact has no history previous to that period?

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: GUEST,Anne Croucher
Date: 09 May 04 - 10:37 PM

It may or not be relevant but have you noticed Cotswold morris wears cricket togs, whilst Northwest wears football kit? Vintage photos of football teams show britches, shirts and caps with tassels which could, with the aid of a work basket and a sewing machine, soon become the costumes worn by dancers in processions.   

The greater number of dancers in Nortwestern could be due to there being both A and B teams to call on, whilst the Cotswold six as standard might be due to the difficulty most amateur cricket sides still experience in trying to field a full team of eleven men.

It could be that the team dancing would benefit their sporting prowess, keeping them fit and enhancing morale and togetherness, plus maintaining contact during the off season.

In the North there were opportunities to travel to processions, maybe the team organisers arranged local leagues and matches etc during these gatherings, and the teams became used to travelling 'away'- which could have been a rather novel experience for them. The railway made the Wakes possible - and then more or less killed them off when people went off to the sea side instead of visiting their local fairs.

Anne

Subject: RE: Origins of Northwest Morris
From: mouldy
Date: 10 May 04 - 02:57 AM

I believe that the performance of some form of ritual dance is, historically at least, a part of human society, and that therefore in some form or other it would have existed in the pre-industrial revolution North West of England too. The North West morris dance we are familiar with seems to me to have been a product of the industrial age, given that a large number of the older dances are processional in nature, and designed for dancing through the streets. What existed before all this is pure conjecture on my part, but the rushcarting processions would seem to be much older than the Wakes (a works holiday period), as rushes are a much more ancient form of floor covering. At what point the rushcarts were accompanied by dancers, I don't pretend to know. As I said in the other thread, it would be interesting to find out if there are any NW dances around that originate from a rural location, and are still done in the same.

Clogs in some form, usually clasp-fastened, were worn from mediaeval times in many parts of the country, being good at keeping out the damp from the ground. But they are also eminently suitable for industrial use, and have been made in many styles to cope with the demands of the same. It's interesting to note that in the later 19th century, at least, some of the sides wore dance shoes (clogs were working footwear!)
Those clogs which were worn for dancing were often the posh ones ("courting clogs") decorated with carved designs and additional eyelets.

The Winster Morris in Derbyshire is a strange blend of Cotswold/NW elements, and the figures are often danced in 4s. There is also occasionally a "country dance" feel to the dances. It almost hearkens back to the mumming tradition too, with the characters (King, Queen, Witch, Fool) that are part of their Wakes ritual. It is also interesting to note that one side of the set is "men" and the other "women". ("Women" have flowery hats). The Winster Wakes are always timed to be held in the week around the feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24th). I don't know about the truth of it, but one bit of hearsay has it that the tradition came from Cornish miners brought in to work the lead mines in the area. When you think of the Furry Dance, there are odd parallels.

I don't expect anybody will ever know the truth of the matter, unless it has been written down somewhere, or we get hold of a time machine.

Andrea