Eynsham Morris
In 1908 Cecil Sharp met Eynsham Morris at the Railway Inn to witness their dances for
inclusion in his notes. This is what he subsequently wrote:
"The dancers met me, I remember, one dull, wet afternoon in mid-winter,
in an ill-lighted upper room of a wayside inn.
They came straight from the fields in their working clothes, sodden with rain,
and danced in boots heavily weighted with mud to the music of a mouth organ...
The depression which not unnaturally lay heavily upon us all at the start was,
however, as by a miracle dispelled immediately the dance began,
and they gave me as fine an exhibition of Morris dancing as it has ever been my
good fortune to see."
These words are oft quoted in histories of Eynsham Morris, and they truly represent the feel of a
village dance side. Dancers out for an evenings' Morris would have worn their farm clothes:
white smocks and boots, still the basis of the Eynsham Morris costume. Knee-length coloured socks
short corded trousers, bell pads, and a red diagonal sash complete the modern clothes.
Resplendent in their black top hats decked with feathers and masses of flowers, and their
large, brightly-coloured wavers, a gathering of Eynsham Morris men are guaranteed to attract a good crowd
wherever they go.
In cold or inclement weather many dancers will be seen wearing thick coats made from thousands
of strips of multi-coloured material, giving them the appearance of walking rugs. These 'rag coats'
keep the rain off and dry quickly without being overly hot, making them ideal for the
showery temperamental weather encountered during much of the dancing season.
Eynsham dances are lively and powerful with much noise and colour, and feature music played
mainly on melodeon and drum which gives a dynamic sound ideal for the type of dance.
The Eynsham Poacher
Poaching was a common occupation in old Eynsham, and much of the surrounding woods belonged
to wealthy landowners who would have hunted mainly for sport, as opposed to workers who would
need to hunt for food.
The dance Poachers is danced to the tune of an old local song called The Eynsham Poacher
which is often sung afterwards in the pub or inn.
Three Eynsham laddies went out one day,
to Lord Abingdon's Manor they made their way.
They took their dogs to seek some game,
and soon to Wytham woods they came.
Chorus: Laddie-i-o, Laddie-i-o, fol-de-ro-ro-ro, Laddie-i-o (twice)
They had not long been beating there,
before the Spaniel she put up a hare.
Up she jumped and away she ran,
and at that same time a pheasant sprang.
They had not beat the woods all through,
before Barratt the keeper came into view.
When they saw the old bugger look,
they makes their way to Cassington Brook.
When they gets there she's full to the brim,
well you'd have laughed to see 'em swim.
Ten feet of water, if not more,
when they gets out their dogs com'd o'er.
Over hedges and ditches and gates and rails,
their dogs followed after, at their heels.
You may now say what you will,
but they had their hare and their pheasant still!
Such defiance by the working class against the landowners is still symbolized today in the Eynsham
costume by prancing about wearing the top hats of the gentry decked with flowers as a symbol of festivity,
but also turning their icon of superiority into an object of ridicule. The feathers (supposedly
of their pheasants) stuck in them, are a final insult.
Jockey to the Fair
Traditionally the final dance of the day before retiring to the inn,
this is danced to a version of the tune for the old ballad Jockie to the Fair.
Note how "Jockie" has become "Jockey" in many written accounts,
including those of today, perhaps
due to people writing down the title of the dance and not knowing the underlying song.
It was on the morn of sweet May Day,
when nature painted all things gay.
Taught birds to sing and lambs to play,
and deck the meadows round.
Young Jockie rose up in the morn,
gaily tripped it o'er the lawn.
His Sunday best the youth put on,
for today it was the Fair,
and Jenny would meet him there.
Eynsham Dances
Brighton Camp
Nutting Girl
Poachers (the Eynsham Poacher)
Constant Will (also known as Constant Billy)
Feathers
Figure Eight (to the local tune March Past)
Highland Mary
Maid of the Mill
Straight Mile
Cock of the North
Jockey to the Fair
Brighton Camp is traditionally the first dance of the day, and Jockey to the Fair is the last.
Incidentally, the railway and the inn where the dancers met Cecil Sharp no longer exist,
the area is now a business park, but the platform and buildings from Eynsham Station were painstakingly disassembled and
reassembled at the Didcot Railway Museum, where steam locomotives still run for the benefit
of visitors. It is therefore possible still to take a steam train to Eynsham Station, as Cecil Sharp may well have
done on that day in 1908.
Official Eynsham Morris Pages
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