Kirtlington Morris

The Kirtlington tradition of Cotswold Morris Dancing was reconstructed by Paul Davenport and handed over to the village of Kirtlington in 1979, when the present Morris side was formed, aided by Len and Barbara Berry and the Kirtlington Scouts, and abetted by Tim Radford of Adderbury. The Dances were based on information gathered by Cecil Sharpe and George Butterworth at the beginning of the 20th Century. Some new tunes were written by Barbara Berry. Our repertoire of dances has grown gradually over the years to include a variety of handkerchief and stick dances as well as two solo jigs. The names of the dances are often based on special features or characters of the village. Distinctive elements of the Kirtlington dances include the characteristically upright and angular “hockleback” which starts each dance and the famous “hey” which is danced backwards. Reports of the annual Kirtlington Lamb Ale feast record dress details of the Morris Men and mention in particular the Dashwood family racing colours of blue and pink.

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