Living Heritage – Final Submissions – Thank You
The JMO entered our final submissions in March 2026.
With huge thanks to the many of you who responded with great suggestions, questions and many kind words about the project, we’re pleased to show you the final texts that were submitted to the DCMS for the inventory of Living Heritage for the UK.
It really was a challenge fitting enough information into the limited word counts, and we’re very grateful to everyone who got involved. We’re now awaiting feedback and the publication of the listings, which we’ve been told will take 4-6 months. We will let you know as soon as we hear back from the DCMS.
Of course these things can always be improved, and we are also obliged to update them every 2 years. The DCMS has said that there will be another window for additional submissions around mid 2027.
From your JMO Living Heritage team: Em Melville (Morris Ring), Jen Cox (Open Morris), Jenny Everett & Pauline Woods-Wilson (Morris Federation).
List of Submisisons
12 Submissions were made by the JMO on behalf of our memberships:
- Appalachian Step Dancing
- Border Morris Dancing
- Cotswold Morris Dancing
- Fools and Beasts
- Longsword Dancing
- Molly Dancing
- Mumming and Guising Plays
- North West Morris Dancing
- Plough Morris Dancing
- Rapper Sword Dancing
- Stave Dancing
- Step Clog Dancing
These styles represented by our membership were covered by listings submitted by others:
- English County Dancing
- Maypole Dancing
- Step Dancing
FAQ: Why is Appalachian dancing included? The DCMS is building an inventory of all Living Heritage being undertaken in the UK, regardless of its origins. The inventory is a snapshot of what is happening now in the UK. See their Principles on this page https://livingheritage.unesco.org.uk/info/faqs#what-are-your-principles
Here is the full list of initial Expressions of Interest (EOIs) entered to the UK inventory from everywhere: https://livingheritage.unesco.org.uk/get-involved/elements. Where there are duplicates, the DCMS will bring contacts together to make a single ‘submission’.
Queries? Any queries, please contact the JMO Living Heritage team at ich@thejmo.org
