William Partlett (79) at North Leigh 16^th May 1910

They used to dance to John Lanksbury's fiddle who came from Ramsden (?)

Ceased dancing at North Leigh 40 or 50 years ago.

Fool (face blacked) Charles Green.

Handkerchiefs not sticks.

Mrs. Kaysey

Princess Royal

Jockie

Greensleeves.

Two men jigs, still, not walking round.

Constant Billy

Old Woman tossed up.

White trousers, ribbons on bells and round high hats.

Billy Brown used to play pipe and tabor and used to come over from Handbrough to teach North Leigh men.

He danced to me and showed me side step and ordinary step with straight leg. "'You must step out forward". "You've got to shiver your legs in the capers . "It'll fetch out the sweat on you." Fred. Gardner (now living at Corn St., Witney) was a good dancer, "as lissome as a cat, an out and out dancer, like on wires."

Used to be merry in the old days. Different now in the villages. "Not no neighbours ; not friends now as they used to be".

He once went thrashing with a flail in a barn for a fortnight at 1/4 a day or 8/- a week. That was since he was married.

Fred Gardner (80) an old Morris man now living at a bakers shop in Corn Street, Witney. He gave me several tunes (see tune book) and items of information. They danced with sticks and handkerchiefs. Sometimes they used cocoa nuts in clapping dances. They sawed a cocoa nut in half, scooped out the kernel and then made two holes in each half connected with a ribbon. The hand was passed through this ribbon as under the strap of a concertina and the half-nut held in the palm concave outwards. They struck each other's hands as well as their own together. Mrs. Kaysey a tune to which this cocoa nut dance was danced.

He remembered a great meeting at a Lamb Ale at Woodstock which was only held once every 7 years. There were two Morris teams. First they all danced before the Duke, and then repaired to a barn where they competed, "Nor Ly" (i.e. North Leigh) of course winning.

"The Old Woman tossed up" often called "Thread Needle". He indicated a movement rather like the Ribbon dance in which partners joined their handkerchiefs together. This performed as a Morris dance.

Galley known as hook-leg; Back to back as Gipsy; Half hands, not half-gip.

They had several stick dances. In one of them the taps at 4th and 8th bars were done as in "Bobbv and Joan".

Often they would suddenly stand still in a dance and sing the tune with its words, then do half-rounds, whole Hey and kipper out and finish off.

Style - related to Ducklington - Field town, Minster Lovell, Ascott, "Wychwood Forest" not Longborough

relaxed no details regarding hand movements

suggestions that sequence is vigorous but flexible.

Tunes 2493 Princess Royal from William Parlett, 2765 Mrs Kaysey, 2766 The Boys of the Bunch and 2767 The Black Joke from Gardner.

Dancers - what they said in brief:-

Steps

Ordinary double step but with straight leg ditto side step

Galley (known as hookleg)

Capers with 'shivered leg'

Half Capers as at Longborough Rlr Lrl

Uprights as at Longborough XXRL

Stepping involves an outward and forward movement not unlike the normal double step with straight leg and forward change. The side step involving a straight leg and forward steep is quite different. If the steps are like Longborough then it seems likely that the North Leigh version is or was very open and elevated ("like on wires").

Hand Movements

possibly like Field Town or like Ascott combined with down and up

Davenport says," for some reason I find it difficult to envisage a Longborough/Bledington hand movement for this tradition but have no reason to think that this would not be the case.

I think that the hands would be the standard down and up.

Common Figures

Foot Up }

Back to Back (Gipsey) }

Half Hands (Half Gyp) }

Half Rounds } All with or without galleys

Whole/Half Hey }

Face Up }

Caper Out }

Sequence Set Dances

OTY(FU) DF BB HHds or reverse DF Face up DF Half Rounds DF WH

OTY (FU) DF HHds DF BB DF Face up DF Half Rounds WH

Compare with sequence at associated traditions: Field Town Ducklington and Ascott The sequence is quite clear from the evidence available. The village lies in such a position geographically as to suggest a number of possibilities.

2.)The Williams MSS connection suggested by Roy Dommett would mean a possible similarity between N. Leigh and Ascott under Wychwood with galley in HH & BB

3.)One informant suggests that they had a dance like Bobby & Joan Filed Town in which case the galley would occur only at certain points.

(Hand movements could be affected in similar way)

BB = " " or 4|4|ds|g|cs

The tradition comprises perhaps 10 dances, including jigs by two men.

Steps:- double step, back steps, side step, galley, capers, half capers, uprights.

1. 4 step - with straight leg and front change probably with high elevation.
2. Back step like Longborough by inference.
3. Side step - not clear but probably a vigorous closed open sidestep again with forward reach and high elevation.
4. Sharp identifies a galley as at Longborough this may presume.
5. Capers a plain caper with 'shivered' leg used mainly at end of dance in 'kipper out'
6. Half Caper - as at Longborough Rlr Lrl
7. Upright - xxRL xxLR

Figures possibly as below.

FU with galley

HHds as half gyp no galley?

Gipsy as Bach to back no galley?

Face up in set singing the tune

WR as at Longborough

WH with jump through and galleys Tunes

cocoanuts used and struck also 4 bars.

Greensleeves as Stanton Harcourt stick dance Longborough

GGG evens MMM GGG odds MMM

corners as in William & Nancy

Constant Billy as Bobby & Joan John Mason

Old Woman "Threadneedle" as in Ribbon Dance W. Hathaway

a crossover with twist and Grimstock hey

Old Taylor Trunkles John Mason

Black Joke Long side step and HH North Leigh

Boys of the Bunch Side step and Half Hey North Leigh

Steps as described c.f. Longborough G on FU,WH,HR

Hands down and up with circles on backsteps and capers. Low balance position for galley, up on ftj

and wave on side steps.

Figures OTY - FU - HHds - BB - Face Up - HR - WH

Distinctive Figures

Mrs Kaysey Handclapping - T/R/T/L/B/P rept WH (Partlett)

Greensleeves Hankie (prob) SS/HH (Parlett)

SS(rt)/4/SS(lt)/4/HH (rept)

Constant Billy Hankie (probab corners) (Parlett)

1. Salute each them all galley HR (rept) or HH
2. PC " " " " "
3. HC " " " " "
4. UC " " " " "

Old Woman Linked Hankie (Parlett)

Sweet Highland Mary SS/HH (Tune fragment in Sharp)

Roy Dommett says that North Leigh also danced:

Old Taylor Corners Hankie

1st (C music) 4 steps across ftj G ftj

2^nd (" " ) PC " " " "

3^rd (" " ) FC " " " "

4^th (" " ) UC " " " "

Black Joke Hankie SS/HH

SS(rt)/SS(rt)/SS(lt)/SS(lt)/HH rept opposite side reverse feet

Boys of the Bunch -Stick

Sharp remarks that Princess Royal as danced by Parlett was almost identical to Harry Taylor of Longborough.

FU SS HC SSS UC SSS

Danced by 2 men - this sounds like Longborough but one man stands still there would appear to be only one interpretation of this :-

1^st 2^nd

FU Still

Still FU

SSS SSS

HC Still

Still HC

SSS SSS

UC Still

Still UC

SSS SSS

This interpretation is as far as I can see the only means whereby one man can stand still while the other dances and yet allows both men to finish together. (There is a form of competition involved in this combination which would seem to fit the spirit of the morris.)

Princess Royal according to Cecil Sharp it would appear that this is like Longborough in that the steps are like those danced by Harry Taylor. It would seem that if thisis the case then the sequence is :- OTY,FU,SSS,HC,SSS,UC,SSS., but Sharp states only "Steps almost exactly the same as Harry Taylor's. The words "almost" and "exactly" contradict one another and thus leave room for speculation regarding what was actually shown to Sharp. The reference applies only to "steps" and no mention is made of hand movements. Also since Harry's son remarked to other collectors that his father often danced variations on the steps. What does Sharp mean ? Sharp notes were presumably written for the purpose of refreshing his own memory not for the benefit of the researcher and thus he may mean any sequence which he had seen. The point being a.) what steps does he mean?

1. how does the term "almost exactly" affect these steps?

a.)This on the grounds that Harry Taylor senior would be unlikely to present a collector with an alternative if the team style was asked for (then added to this it must be clear that 'steps' is the word used.

b.)One can presume that on seeing the informant dancing Sharp was reminded of Harry Taylor's dancing and noticed that variations were apparent, more in the mode od execution than in the steps themselves.

Further information needs to be sought regarding the steps but it mat be that they are an open and more free version of those danced at Longborough.

Jockie - OTY/FU/SSS/HC/SSS/UC

SSS - SS(rt)/4/SS(lt)/4/SS(rt)/SS(lt)/4PC/4/ft/G/ftj

Princess Royal - (as Longborough but short FU)

OTY/FU/SSS/HC/SSS/UC/SSS FU= 4/ftj/G/ftj

SSS - SS(rt)/4/ss(lt)/4/xxx-/xxx-/xxx-/xfat-/4/ftj/G/ftj

4 PC in last 2 bars to finish

HC may be FC(rtb t/RL/ - etc

*in last two bars of A sing "We are all the Boys of the Bunch