Today, I visited Cecil Sharp House in Camden, off Regents Park Road.
Cecil Sharp was a collector of folk music and dances which he documented. He was instrumental in the revival of this traditional form of dancing and became the first ever Professor of Folk Music and Dance
Inside Cecil Sharp House I saw a little model of the Headington Quarry Morris Dancers who Cecil saw one Boxing Day morning when visiting an Aunt in Oxford.
A collaborator of Sharps’s called Mary Neal found her inspiration from nearby Berkshire. (Photo by Meritxell Bonas). The picture shows the recent Mary Neal celebration at Cecil Sharp House where the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers performed .
Cecil’s interest was perhaps more academic, while Mary used the dances to teach to young working class girls in her Esperance Club.
Mary heard of some dancers from a town in Berkshire who always danced with horns mounted on a pole. That interested her greatly. So she wrote and got the reply ‘Honourable and respected Miss, I am that party which has the old dances, and I shall be proud to show them to you. Yours to command.’
She first came to Abingdon around 1910 and saw them dance at the White Horse Pub. They also went to London to dance for her. Her correspondent went by the well known Abingdon name of Hemmings.
Today is Mr. Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris Dancers day of dance, held each year on the nearest Saturday to the birthday of Tom hemmings (referred to in the last part of the article).
Mr Hemmings and several visiting morris sides start at THe White Horse at 10:30am and continue down Ock street to the town center here dancing takes place on the market place and outside town center pubs later in the morning and the rest of the day.
Cecil Sharp referred to Abingdon’s dancing style as ‘degenerate morris’. Something we’re very proud of.
I spent all day following the Morris sides around the town. It was absolutely terrific. Pity that it was on the cold side and that the ‘footie’ coincided. However, quite a few people seemed to have turned out to watch. A great experience – long may the tradition last. Many thanks to all of those dancers for letting us share in the folk-lore. And well done to the ‘Arabic Dance’ performers…..a great pleasure to watch them too.
Cassandra, I am glad that you enjoyed the day & all the many people including a couple who came especially from America enjoyed it too. A big thank you to all the dance teams & our local landlord & landladies for supporting us. As you said at least it was dry!! & a good day was had by all.
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