Morris dances in Cumbria in the early twentieth century [Video]

Cumbria is rarely, if ever, considered as a place with a history of morris dancing. However the late Victorian/Edwardian passion for patriotic celebrations incorporating Romantic ideas of ‘Merrie England’, complete with maypoles and morris dancing, encouraged many Cumbrian towns and villages to develop their own May Day celebrations and carnivals. A number of these included morris dancing, usually performed by school children.

In this illustrated talk, Sue Allan considers the styles and sources of the dances performed at Keswick, Ulverston, Wigton, Blennerhasset, Cockermouth and Workington, which she has researched for over forty years. Newspaper reports, memoirs and even a novel reveal tantalising glimpses of the dancing, while photographs of dancers and interviews with former performers and teachers shed yet more light on performances. Sources for the dances include borrowings from Lancashire morris traditions, early twentieth-century books on Cotswold morris and the major influence of two individuals: Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust, and west Cumbrian dancing master Oliver Cowper.