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The fifty-fourth meeting of the Morris Ring and the twenty-third annual gathering of Morris Men at Thaxted was held on the week-end 25^th-27^th May 1956.

Different Thaxted authorities gave different estimates of the number of dancers present and it may be nobody really knew. There is every probability, however, that the total reached 180, which if true would constitute a record for the Thaxted week-end. The following 22 clubs were represented, all but two by a full side: - Bedford, Benfleet Hoymen, Burton-on-Trent, Cambridge, Chanctombury Ring, Colchester, East Kent, East Surry, Exeter, Gloucester, Greensleeves, London Pride, London Rodney, Orpington, Ravensbourn, Roding Valley, St. Albans, Standon, Thaxted, Westminster, Whitchurch & Winchester.

There was a buffet supper in the Church Hall on Friday evening, dancing in Belford St. Hall from 8.30, and the customary carnival gatherings at the Bull, Swan & elsewhere. Soon after 10.30 the men dispersed to seek a good night’s sleep in their various situations.

Breakfast at the Church Hall was at 8.30, so there should be no misunderstanding among

the men as to the itinerary of the respective tours, the full details of all five tours with the names of the teams on each were this year posted up on the notice board.

Tour1: Bedford, East Surry & London Rodney to Great Easton, Little Easton, Dunmow & Thaxted.

Tour2: Benfleet, East Kent, Orpington, Thaxted & Westminster to Molehill Green, Hatfield, Broad Oak & Bishop’s Stortford.

Tour3: Greensleeves, St. Albans, Whitchurch & Winchester to Wethersfield, the Headinghams & Braintree.

Tour4: Cambridge, Colchester, Gloucestershire, London Pride & Standon to Newport, *Wicken Bonhunt (*added in pencil) Arkesden, Clavering & Saffron Walden (ind. St. James’s Hospital this also in pencil and in brackets)

Tour5: Burton-on-Trent, Exeter, Ravensbourn & Roding Valley to Finchingfield, Great Barfield & Dunmow.

At least one tour found its number unmanageably large and soon spilt into two groups. It was also necessary in this instance to have two successive sittings for lunch. Spectators were few in the smaller villages but there were good crowds in Saffron Waldon, Bishop’s Stortford, Dunmow & Braintree. All teams returned to the Church Hall for tea at 4.30 and afterwards

assembled in the Swan Yard in groups as for their tours. Each group danced it’s own processional dance down the hill to the Guildhall where all joined in a programme of the Abran Circle Dance. The usual succession of club teams followed, interspersed with an occasional "all together". The weather had been fine all day and the crowd in Thaxted was even larger then ever. The show concluded at about 7.30 when a short business meeting of club Representatives was held in Alec Hunter’s garden.

The Feast was at 8 p.m., about 100 men being seated in the Church Hall where the Squire presided, and the remainder in the British Legion Hut. After an excellent meal the formal toasts- "The Queen" & "The Immortal Memory of Cecil Sharp" were given by the Squire who then suggested that the usual order of events should be changed since the men feeding in the Legion Hut had not yet arrived. In order that they should not miss the speeches he asked the Bagman to read the Minutes of the meeting at Lichfield & Manchester. Staffs of membership were then presented by the Squire to the representatives of four newly admitted clubs- Standon Morris Men, Benfleet Hoymen, East Kent Morris Men & Colchester Morris

Men. It should be recorded that Standon’s election brought the number of existing clubs in the Ring to 50. The Bagman made a few routine announcements about Broachers, Photographs, ect., and the Squire announced that although a licensing extension had been granted until 11p.m. men were requested to return to their digs by that time to avoid inconvenience to their hosts. The toast of Thaxted was proposed by the Squire-Elect, Bill Cassie, who briefly but eloquently expressed the gratitude of all the visiting Morris dancers to the Thaxted Morris Men & particularly to Father Jack & to Alec for maintaining year after year this annual gathering-unique in it’s kind and invaluable in the contribution it makes to the Morris & the Ring. Replying to the toast, farther Jack said Thaxted welcomed the Morris Men & would continue to do so, but he admitted that this year he found himself with a problem of inflation as difficult as that found by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He thank the Club Bagmen for the excellent way they had filled in their application forms, but he asked men not to make private bookings with their hosts & hostesses for next year as this though understandable makes his task more complicated then ever. The squire invited

John Strange to propose the toast of the Morris Ring. The Ring he said was obviously healthy- great strides were being made by the young clubs and others, too, were going from strength to strength. He concluded with a tribute to the Squire who was now nearing the end of his distinguished two years of office & coupled his name with the toast. Donald, replying thanked John for his speech & expressed his pleasure at Fathers Jack’s remarks. He then proceeded to review the main subject under discussion in the Meeting of Club Representatives- firstly, next year’s Ring meetings for which several offers had already been made; secondly, publication, on which three proposals had been received: 1. that the existing Morris Books should be rearranged & completed; 2. that dances not in the Morris Books should be made available; 3. the publication by the Ring of newly discovered traditions. The third main subject was that of publicity, which had been brought into prominence by the new bimonthly publication "Carnival Parade" featuring as Morris Dancing the girls Morris teams of the Stockport district, the Editor at the same time having asked for an article on the Morris Ring. The Squire suggested that the men should make known their views on the subjects through their Club Representatives.

At 10.10 the men left the Church Hall and before long dancing was in full swing at each & all of the hostelries in Thaxted. *

Breakfast on Sunday morning was ay 8.45 and at 9.30 the Club Representatives reconvened their meeting in Alec’s garden. The Church service with procession followed the customary form & afterward there was dancing in various Inn yards & other places off the main road. Lunch at 1 o’clock in the Church Hall was followed by the usual Country Dance party in the Swan Yard at which several Morris teams showed their paces, among them the newly-arrived Headington Quarry Junior Team who sprang a surprise on us all with their Shepard’s Hay stick dance.

So ended another memorable Thaxted week-end; but before closing this account an appreciation should be recorded of the excellent catering services again provided under exceptional difficulties by Mr. D. Luff of Clavering.

Addendum: In the course of his conversation with a representative of the local Press during the show in Thaxted the Bagman considered it might be of some interest of the readers if the names of a few Morris dancers were quoted in the report. In due

course there appeared in the Saffron Walden Weekly News the following: - "The dances had names like ‘Young Collins’, ‘Saturday Night’, ‘Trunkales’, ‘Cuckoo Going Upstairs’, ‘William & Mary’, and the ‘Cuckoo Call’.

W. Fisher Cassie
1/6/57

*The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance was performed by the Thaxted Men. [Written in pencil]