Recently, we saw some morris dancers under the county hall – The Taunton Deane Morris Men from Somerset. They were on a Sunday tour of some of the places associated with the morris dance sides recorded by Cecil Sharp who died 100 years ago. (Sharp, a renowned English folklorist, is credited with reviving Morris dancing in the early 20th century.)  The Taunton Deane Morris visited Chipping Campden, Longborough, Sherborne, Headington Quarry and Abingdon.

I was too late to see all of them as they had finished dancing. But found this picture of all of them on their website.

Mr Hemming’s Abingdon Day of Dance kicked off at 10:30 am today, but for the Hastings RX Morris side, the day began much earlier. They came from East Sussex to join Mr Hemmings Traditional Morris and 10 other teams, and when they got here rain forced them to seek shelter most of the morning. There was cover under the County Hall.

There was cover inside the Broad Face pub. Here are Abingdon’s own Ashnah Tribal Dancers.

There was cover under the tarpaulins at the Nags Head.

It did brighten up by the afternoon to allow dancing at other locations before another downpour soon after 4 pm.

These are Masons Apron Morris.

The Chiltern Hundreds Clog Morris from near Watford.

These are the Stroud Morris.

I must apologise that I didn’t even get any pictures of Mr Hemmings Abingdon Traditional Morris dancing. By the afternoon I had to be elsewhere. So congratulations to Les Badcock and his team for attracting so many visiting teams to Abingdon. Abingdon is a historically important centre of Morris Dancing.

Today was Mayor’s Day: the election of the Mayor of Ock Street, the leader of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers. So there was dancing throughout the day, and a procession between dancing locations behind the Horns.

The guest sides were the  Windsor Morris and the Vale Islanders.

The Polling Station at the Brewery Tap opened at 11 am and closed at 4 pm. People living or working in Ock Street get a vote.

There was dancing at the Black Swan; Abbey Gateway; Market Place; Broad Face; Long Alley Almshouses; and Brewery Cottages, Coopers Lane where Pam and Alick served the teams and other visitors with beer.

The previous Mayors of Ock Street, Roger Cox and Harry Knight did not stand this year, and so there were three younger candidates, none of whom had been Mayor before. The winner was Rob Charlton. Rob has been lead dancer and so the Morris Men now have an active dancer as  Mayor. The sword and cup of office was presented by the Mayor of Abingdon, Councillor Gabby Barody.

Rob then sat in the chair of office

and was paraded up and down Ock Street as is the custom.

There was then further dancing.

On New Year’s Day 2024, Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers performed outside the Punchbowl in Abingdon, and then the Broad Face. They were led by the Mayor of Ock Street, Roger Cox, and the Deputy Mayor, Harry Knight.

They had a good turnout with about twenty members.

Abingdon morris dancing is similar to other Cotswold dances, with the dancers wearing white clothes and waving handkerchiefs. But unlike other Cotswold teams, they don’t use sticks. You can learn more about them on their website: http://atmd.org.uk/abingdon-morris/.

I filmed one of their dances, called “The Curly-Headed Ploughboy.” This tune became famous after a man named Cecil Sharp heard it from a local musician in Abingdon in 1922. Now, it’s a popular song at pubs and festivals beyond Abingdon according to the reference: https://www.efdss.org/learning/resources/a-z/2548-efdss-learning-resources-curly-headed-ploughboy.