The Ancient Men 105th national and international tour Cumbria 2010
This week sees the return of international touring morris dancing team The Ancient Men to Cumbria for the first time in 14 years. One of England’s longest established teams, they come to the Penrith area hard on the heels of a tour of the Baltic shores of Poland and Russia in early July.
In recent years the sight and sound of Morris Dancers on heritage days, village greens, and outside pubs has become commonplace but 50 years ago it was much rarer, and only ninety years ago the traditional dances of England had nearly disappeared completely. The decline in village pastimes during the Industrial Revolution, and the Victorian desire to replace what were seen as drunken revels with respectable organised sports, was completed by the slaughter in the trenches of the First World War. When Cecil Sharp came across dancers near Oxford and began to note down their tunes and movements he believed he was recording a nearly extinct tradition.
Fortunately, a handful of village ‘sides’ refused to let their traditions disappear and a small number of revival sides were formed in the early part of the 20th century. They learned the dances from Sharp, other collectors, and surviving dancers, and practised hard before taking the dances back out to the villages. The Ancient Men are justifiably proud of their part in this rescue. The side from which their members are mostly drawn was formed in the years after World War One and was one of the six founder members of the Morris Ring in the 1930s. The Ancient Men were formed as a touring side to take Morris dancing to a wider audience and is still one of only two such sides in Britain. They have been dancing the length and breadth of Britain and the wider world as far afield as New Mexico, Japan and Kenya - for nearly sixty summers.
The Cotswold Morris dances which the Ancient Men perform come from villages in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. Nobody really knows how old they are, or why they are even called Morris Dances, despite much academic speculation. You will see elements of fighting dances and crop-planting dances and much waving of sticks and handkerchiefs to ward off evil spirits. However, if it’s pagan fertility rites you’re looking for, well you could try buying them a pint in the pub afterwards!
Older spectators might remember the team from previous visits to Cumbria in 1976, 1982 and 1996. If you do, look closer, for some of the dancers you saw then are still dancing here today. Their youthful good looks belie a degree of maturity! Thursday 29 will see them at the magnificent 13th century fortified manor house at Brougham Hall and around Ullswater, and they move on to the Appleby area on Friday. They perform in Penrith on Saturday 31, and then go on in the afternoon to take part in the Little Salkeld Watermill’s Lammas Day weekend celebrations, marking the first harvest festival of the year. Charlie Thornton of Penrith Tourist Information Centre says “we’re delighted to welcome the Ancient Men this summer. It’s so important to remember our cultural heritage, and morris dancing provides great entertainment at the same time.”
For more information contact Greg Finch tel: 07831 502262 or email: gregpfinch@hotmail.com
The Ancient Men Cumbria Tour 2010 Itinerary
Thursday 29 July
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10.45am Brougham Hall Fusion Café
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12.00 noon Pooley Bridge The Crown
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3.15pm Glenridding Pierhouse
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5pm Howtown Howtown Hotel
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6.30pm Dacre The Horse and Farrier
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8.00pm Askham The Queen’s Head
Friday 30 July
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11am Bolton The Eden Vale
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12.30pm Appleby The Cloisters, Boroughgate
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6pm Dufton The Stag
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7pm Morland The Crown
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8pm Great Strickland Strickland Arms
Saturday 31 July
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11am Penrith Tourist Information Centre
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12.30pm Penrith Angel Square
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4pm Little Salkeld Watermill
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6pm Langwathby Shepherds Inn
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7.30pm Eamont Bridge The Beehive
