Next Meeting
News
Our core repertoire for the 2008 season has now been agreed. See the entry on the right-hand side for details.
Our new website design has now been completed - we hope you like it. The web pages feature our new logo which was designed for us by Martin Evans. For more information on our logo designs, please see the link on the right-hand side.
Contact Us
If you want to contact us for booking, joining or any other information, you can contact us by email here and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
About Us
Morris dancing in Malmesbury can be traced back to at least 1641. A
reference to the Malmesbury Morris men describes a conflict with
neighbours from Long Newnton...
It
was the custom in Long Newnton, Wiltshire of marking Trinity Sunday
& commemorating the granting of a common in Saxon times by having a
maid of the town drape a garland of flowers around the neck of a
bachelor from another parish while claiming a monetary payment and
granting three kisses. In June 1641 Long Newnton men carrying the
garland were met by a gang of about 80 men from nearby Malmesbury, led
by one John Browne “with a hobby-horse and bells on his legs” and
accompanied by bells & drums. “Win it and wear it” challenged one
of the Malmesbury morris men, “come three score of you, you are but
boies to we.” A bloody melee ensued. Magistrates termed it "an unlawful
assembly" and six months later were still proceeding against some for
actions of 'riot & battery'.
The local Morris side does not
appear to have survived the advent of the industrial revolution and the
tradition seems to have died out in the Malmesbury area. This changed
when Malmesbury Mixed Morris was formed in the summer of 2004 to
provide a local Morris Dancing group for the Malmesbury area. Since the
first meeting at the Market Room in Malmesbury Town Hall, the group has
continued to develop and grow assisted by instruction from experienced
dancers from Chippenham and Stroud Morris sides. In September 2005 we
decided to change our name to Malmesbury Morris.
We started with
a small group that possessed little Morris dancing experience. We now
have many dances fit for public performance and more being prepared. We
are growing in membership and have been fortunate to be joined by some
more experienced dancers making our group more balanced. We are still
looking for more members to either dance or play music.
In our first season we put on ten public performances and two introductory workshops and since then have done many more of both. We marched in the 2005 & 2006 Malmesbury Carnival processions; we have taken part in the 2006 & 2007 Chippenham Folk Festivals; we have danced in Malmesbury's twin town of Niebull, Germany; and we have taken part in setting a World Record for the largest ever Morris dance in Moreton-in-Marsh.
Join Us
Malmesbury Morris is a member of the Morris Federation.
The aims of Malmesbury Morris are:
To have fun
To enjoy keeping fit
To entertain the public and bring traditional English dances to Malmesbury and the surrounding area.
Malmesbury Morris also supports the aims of the Morris Federation:
To encourage and maintain the interest in the practice of Morris Dancing
To contribute to communication between Morris sides
To encourage the improvement of standards of dancing among team members
Membership
Membership for 2007 costs £60 for the year, split into 3 payments of £20 payable in January, April and September. Alternatively you can pay £3 per session, though this would work out to be more expensive over the course of the year.
Officers
Squire: Maggie Dyson
Deputy Squire: Ange Grigsby
Foreman: Barbara Strange
Secretary: Ann Roberts-Phare
Treasurer: Linda Davies
Ragman: Ruzi Buchanan
Publicity: Mark "Woody" Allen
Musicians
We try to have live music played for all of our performances and practice sessions. Music is provided by our side's doughty musicians.
Hilary Rawles (Lead Musician): Fiddle & Whistle
Mark "Woody" Allen: Guitar, Tenor Guitar & Anglo Concertina
