50th anniversary of the revival of morris marked at Adderbury’s Day of Dance
27/04/2025
The village’s three sides were joined by a number of visiting dancers
The 50th anniversary of the revival of morris dancing in Adderbury was marked at the village’s annual Day of Dance on Saturday, with performances from Adderbury’s two mens’ sides and the ladies’ side, Sharp and Blunt, who this year celebrated their own 15th anniversary.
Visiting sides from Whitchurch, Illmington, Hammersmith and Windsor added to the traditional, colourful spectacle with locals and visitors enjoying the sights and sounds of the day.
The annual occasion began in Adderbury in 1975, thanks to villager Janet Blunt who had written down details of the traditional dances early in the twentieth century. A blue plaque commemorating Janet Blunt can be found outside Le Hall Place in Manor Road – a place one of the sides will visit.
Another villager, Winnie Wyatt (who had worked for Janet Blunt) saved the manuscripts from being destroyed after Janet’s Blunt’s death. Flowers were laid and prayers said at both lady’s graves.
David Gunby, Adderbury Morris Men’s Squire, told us why people still dance. “Partly it’s a performance: you’re showing off,” he said. “Even for people who would deny it, there’s a little bit of a performer in all of us.
“But the tradition of the history of morris in England goes back to the 1450s. Adderbury has its own tradition which goes back to at least around 1700, and so we’re keeping that alive.
“It’s great for the audience, some of whom probably wonder what’s going on! But I hope they appreciate there are some people who put a lot of time into practising this and trying to get it right. We don’t always succeed, but we try and get it right and put on an entertainment, which is how the morris started.”
Morris dancing doesn’t come without the risk of injury, especially when using the stick. “We don’t have many injuries”, said David, “but you’ve got 36 inches of English Willow in your hand and we don’t mess about with the stick! People have ended up with broken knuckles or bloodied knuckles. You have to be cognizant of what your partner’s doing.”
Adderbury Morris Men will be performing at the May Day celebration in Oxford this Thursday. Dancing takes them around the world, having visited places like Catalonia, America, Latvia, Romania, Estonia and India where people appreciate what David described as “the weird Englishness of it”.
For this year’s 50th anniversary lapsed and ex-side members returned to the village, including actor Tim Plester, who has recently starred in the ITV drama Moonflower Murders.
pictures: Banbury FM and Sally Moore
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
