Last Updated 3rd March 2001
[p179 - Hymn Sheet - Thaxted Ring Meeting 1960]
[p180]
The 73rd meeting of the Morris ring, and the twenty-seventh annual gathering of Morris Men in Thaxted, was held from Friday 10th June to Trinity Sunday 12th June 1960.
About 190 men plus boys, attended the meeting, representing these twenty-four clubs: - Bedford, Benfleet Hoymen, Burton, Colchester, East Suffolk, East Surry, Foresters, Greensleeves, Jockey, King’s College Newcastle, Leicester, Luton, Monkseaton, Offley, Oxford City, Roding Valley, St. Albans, Standon, South West Essex, Thames Valley, Thaxted, Westminster, Winchester, and Whitchurch.
The meeting began with six men dancing in Bolford Street Hall at 8 p.m. on Friday; and ended with considerable Morris during the garden party on the Vicarage lawn on the Sunday afternoon.
These tours began from Thaxted between 10.15 and 10.30 a.m. on the Saturday morning.
Tour 1. Westminster, Monkseaton, East Suffolk and Luton, from Bell Lane to Toppesfield, Gt.Yeldham, Ridgwell, Steeple Bumstead, Hemstead, Radwinter, and Saffron Waldon. Guides were Eric Brown, Dick Johns, and George Scrivener.
Tour 2. Burton, Grensleves, Bedford, and Offley, from Swan Yard to Henham,
[p181]
Molehill Green, Hatfield Broad Oak, Hatfield Green, and Bishop’s Strtford. Guides were Farther Jack, and Arthur Caton.
Tour 3. Thames Valley, Standon, St. Albans, East Surry, and Leicester from the British Legion Hut to Weathersfield, Castle Hedingham, Halstead, and Braintree; guides; - Colin Townsend and John Bull.
Tour 4. Colchester, Roding Valley, King’s College, and the Squire Elect from Bolford Street to Debden, Widdington, Wicken Bonhunt, Arksden, and Saffron Walden; guides were Fred Caton, Russell Caton, and John Lankester.
Tour 5. Winchester, Benfleet Hoymen, Whitchurch, South-West Essex, Foresters, and Oxford from the Church Hall to Finchingfield, Bardfield, Saling, Stebbing, and Dunmow. Guides were Wilfred Abbs, and Peter Lawrence.
Tours 1and 4 gave a joint show at Saffron Walden, in fine sunshine, to a large crowd.
After tea by and in the British Legion Hut, the tours assembled at 5.15 for processions converging on the Market Square; "One" at the Swan Yard; "Two" and "Three" at "Mrs. Nunn’s house near Windmill"; "Four" at the Rose and Crown; and "Five" at the Swan Yard. "One", "Four" and
[p182]
"Five" to go clockwise in the outer circle of the Abram Circle; "Two" and "Three" to go counter-clockwise in the inner circle. The evening’s display was directed by Nibbs Matthews, the Squire-Elect, since all Past Squires at the meeting were in the Church Hall at the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Council of the Morris Ring. The Squire-Elect was greatly helped by the foresight of the Thaxted men, who had pinned a sheet in the Church Hall, upon which clubs could write the names of the dances they wished to show. These were; Bedford, Dearest Dickey; Benfleet Hoymen, Fieldtown Leapfrog; Burton, Beaux of London City; Colchester, Cuckoo’s Nest, Bledington; East Suffolk, Rigs o’ Marlow; East Surry, Monk’s March; Greensleeves, Old Woman Tossed Up, Sherborne; King’s College, High Spen, rapper; Leicester, Filedtown Rose; Luton Longstraw, The Quaker; Monkseaton, rapper; Foresters, Beaux of London City, Adderbury; Offley, Banks of the Dee; Roding Valley, Queens Delight; St. Albans, Fieldtown Step-Back; Standon, Rose Tree; Thames Valley, Lichfield, Ring o’ Bells; Thaxted, Bobby and Joan; Westminster, Old Harry, Long borough; Winchester and Whitchurch jointly,
[p183]
Swaggering Bonny; S.W. Essex, Shepherd’s Hey, Longborough; Oxford, Flowers of Edinburgh. This display finished with Bonny Green Garters soon after 7 o’clock. The dancers made their way to Bolford Street Hall, and to the Church Hall, for the Feast.
The Squire-Elect presided in the Church Hall supported by Father Jack. The Bagman who was in Bolford Street, understood that after the formal toast of The Queen and Cecil Sharp, Fred Hamer proposed The Ring; Charlie Williams replied; Jack Thompson proposed The Thaxted Morris; and that in his reply Father Jack spoke of the recent death of Past Squire Kenworthy Schofield, referring to him as the Master-Squire.
The Bolford Street made an unusual beginning. At 7.40, with an empty top table, the men were drinking soup, graceless. This state of affairs was largely put to rights by Bill Cassie taking the Presidency, supported by Douglas Kennedy, Donald Cassels, The Keeper of the Scrap Book, Father George, and John Bull of the Thaxted Morris. The meal tickets were collected quickly from the 93 men eating the usual fine meal sent by the Clavering contractor.
The President proposed the formal toasts at
8.30 Lionel Bacon, proposing the Health of the Ring, spoke of the many times he had performed this duty, usually at a few minuets notice. Considering the Ring, a national organisation, he referred to the usual picture conjured up by the words, "national organisation"; of imposing buildings and paid officials; yet what, he asked, What did the men think of when the Ring was spoken about? Voice from the hall, "Beer." After the uproar had died down Lionel said that we thought of places like Abingdon and Headington; of meetings of Morris men; of new sides; of new ideas and new presentations of old dances.
Douglas Kennedy, replying, spoke of the older men’s pride in the growth of the Ring; of their particular fondness for the Thaxted setting, were that growth began; of his many memories of meetings at this place; the repeated thrill at the sight of the men; and of his own keen pleasure at being present this night. He then went on to speak of Kenworthy Schofield, who had died at midnight on the previous Wednesday; Kenworthy - his friend still - was one of the architects of the Ring; his influence would continue in this confraternity of men; for his had been the imagination to see what would be the result of taking the Morris out of the class-
[p185]
room and into the open. He remembered Kenworthy as a schoolboy complimented by Cecil Sharp for his marvellous sense of rhythm. On the musical side Kenworthy particularly skilled with pipe and tabor, had been something of a rebel. He was the first to challenge certain printed notations. His approach had been partly scientific, partly emotional. He had been the most important factor, perhaps, in the liberation of the folk dance from pedantic forces. Mentioning his great personal debt to Kenworthy, and correspondingly great sorrow now, Douglas concluded by speaking of Kenworthy’s great academic attainment; of his unique knowledge of the soil, which attracted students from all over the world; and how to, within a few hours of his death, Kenworthy had been marking students papers with meticulous care.
At 9.10 Donald Cassels proposed the health of the Thaxted Morris Men. Saying that his own dancing was due to Kenworthy Schofield, he thanked Douglas Kennedy for his tribute to the great man. Speaking of his own extreme pleasure in the Thaxted meetings, which had began long before the ring existed, he thought it necessary for men to know the origin and history of these meetings, and their particular pattern; and that the person proposing this toast had a unique opportunity to tell it. He had
[p186 - Letter from Margaret Hunter pasted in]
known only one wet day in his long experience of Thaxted meetings; and all the men had danced in the Belford Street Hall. Thaxted was an annual marvel; it was a pouring of a quart of Morris men into the pint-pot of Thaxted; and the Morris men did their utmost to take out as many quarts as possible from the Thaxted pint-pot! John Bull replying, said that they would be pleased to see all that came next year, that being the jubilee year.
The Bagman read the Log of the Thaxted meeting of 1959, with Margaret Hunters letter of appreciation for the Alec Hunter Memorial Chest; and the Log of the Plaque Ceremony at Headington.
Bill Cassie then rose to speak of the long tradition of dancing in the Tyne Valley; how a Monkseaton club of 1920 became the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Morris Men; how the present Monkseaton Morris Men ran a meeting before they were even in the Ring; and invited their Squire, Alan Brown, to receive the Staff of Association in the Morris Ring. Alan did so, to the prolonged applause of the men present.
With grace at 9.45 by Father George, the feast ended, and the men ended the day dancing by the Guildhall and at other traditional sites.
The Sunday service was preceded by the usual
[p187]
meeting of the club representatives, held in the British Legion Hut. During the Church service the Greensleeves Morris Men danced the Fieldtown Rose in the crossing. The sermon was preached by Father George. After the service the men danced in the inn-yards; and after lunch, at the dance party on the Vicarage Lawn.
The Morris ring records its sincere thanks to the Thaxted Morris Men for yet another enjoyable weekend’s Morris.
[Signed]
Nibs Matthews
Squire
27.5.61
Archive Homepage|Traditions Page|Author Page|Publications Page|Access/Charging