Morris Dancing in Stretford Before the First World War

Fig.1 Advertisement for “Flixton Wakes” at the Theatre Royal, Manchester. (Manchester Mercury, 22 April 1788, p.4)

The earliest reference to Morris Dancing in Stretford is associated with the annual Rush-bearing ceremony that coincided with Stretford Wakes. Sir Bosdin Leech (1836–1912), one time Mayor of Manchester, recorded in his reminiscences in 1909: 'I never remember a rush-cart in Stretford but in lieu, on “Wakes Tuesday”, a gaily decorated turf cart paraded the streets, and with it were a number of Morris dancers dressed in fancy costumes.' He did not give a precise date but recalled that a maypole was erected and there was a tee-total procession. Publicans added to the excitement by occasionally arranging cock fights, bull and bear baits, pony races, steeplechases and rabbit coursing.

Although there is no direct evidence of a Rush-bearing at Stretford, the Churchwardens'  Accounts imply that one probably was held:

1756    'For mowing rushes and fetching: £0 1s 6d'

1778    The wardens spent 4s for drink 'at taking the garland to church'.

It is known that at Gorton, Manchester, the Chapel Garlands adorned the rush cart.

A play staged at the Theatre Royal in Spring Gardens, Manchester in 1788 also records the existence of Garland dancers from Stretford: 'At the end of the same season was introduced a local piece called “Flixton Wakes” in which was a garland dance, executed by the youths from Flixton, Urmston and Stretford.'

Fig.2 May Grant, the first Stretford Rose Queen, 1909. (Trafford Lifetimes, Reference TL9196, Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection)

Prior to about 1850, and in some places continuing beyond that date, morris dancing was frequently part of the annual celebrations surrounding the annual Wakes holidays and Rush-bearing ceremonies in towns and villages of North-West England. Rush-bearing, the ceremonial renewing of rushes for the church floor, usually coincided with the Wakes. The Wakes were holidays, often lasting a week, which were usually observed close to the saint's day of the patronal saint of the local parish church. This was not the case in Stretford when the Wakes were held on the first Sunday after 4 October (5 October in some accounts), and not on 21 September, the saint's day of St. Matthew, the saint associated with Stretford chapel and the later parish church.

It is not surprising that morris and garland dancing took place in Stretford. In his recent book on Rush-bearing, Garry Stringfellow has identified twenty-two townships in modern day Greater Manchester where there is clear evidence that morris dancing was a feature of the rush-bearing celebrations. These include some of the Lancashire townships that adjoin Trafford such as Didsbury and Eccles. Morris dancing also occurred in association with Rush-bearing in the North Cheshire towns and villages of Lymm, Rostherne, Warburton and Wilmslow.

Apart from a reference in 1893 to, 'some pretty Maypole dancing by children from Stretford Parish Schools and an exposition of Morris dancing by a band of grotesquely attired young men from Oldham' at the Lancashire County Constabulary Sports, Old Athletic Ground, Old Trafford, no further evidence of morris dancing has yet been identified in Stretford before the twentieth century.

The establishment of an annual Rose Queen Festival, centred on the Gorse Hill district, which, after the First World War, became the long-lived Stretford Pageant, revived morris dancing in the area. However morris dancers from outside Stretford did dance each year from 1900 to 1905 at the Botanical Gardens in Old Trafford. This was the destination for the parades which marched through the streets of Manchester on Lifeboat Saturday, for which a Morris troupe was engaged. In 1901 it was Godley Hill Royal Morris Dancers who danced in the gardens and where: 'highly appreciative crowds assembled to watch the Morris dancers.' In 1902 the Morris dancers were not identified in the report and in 1903 a 'young troupe from St. Joseph's Catholic School, Darwen' was engaged.  The following year Horwich attended, and in 1905 Crewe Royal Morris Dancers danced on the way to the Botanical Gardens and, 'caused a great deal of attention along the route.'

In the two years before the Rose Queen Festival began in Gorse Hill, a Gala had been held at Gorse Hill Farm in 1907, and on the football field in Gorse Hill, in 1908. This Gala did not involve the crowning of a Rose Queen but included a baby show, athletic sports and a brass band. The first Rose Queen was crowned in 1909 at an event entitled 'Stretford Open Air Fete and Crowning of the Rose Queen', on 21 August, at Gorse Hill Farm. This event was aimed at raising funds for the building of the proposed new Gorse Hill church of St. Peter. The Rose Queen, May Grant, was accompanied by maypole dancers, but no mention was made in the programme of morris dancers. It was clearly very much a Gorse Hill event and well-organised by members of the Gorse Hill community:

'The organisation of the event has demanded a good deal of time, care and attention on the part of Mrs Wadman (the vicar's wife), Mrs Taylor and Mr. J. Birtles, upon whom have devolved the selection of the characters, and certainly they carried out their duties with considerable taste and artistic judgement.' 

- Stretford Telegraph

Fig. 3 Programme for Stretford Rose Queen Festival, 1910. (Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection, TRA 438)

The Gorse Hill district before the First World War can be viewed as a separate village. It was a compact set of streets situated between Stretford village and Manchester city centre, in an area of land relatively isolated from other habitation by the Chester Road (A 56) to the south-east, the Bridgewater Canal to the south-west and the Cheshire Lines railway to the north-west. There were still open fields between it and the ancient village of Stretford, and working farms – including Gorse Hill Farm – just across the Chester Road from the main streets of Gorse Hill. Anyone looking at the census or street directories of the area in this period will be struck by the numbers of engine drivers, firemen, mechanics and engineers living on the Gorse Hill streets. In an interview in September 1987, Miss Marshall, who was eighty-nine when interviewed, and had lived in Gorse Hill since 1904, pointed out that most of the houses in Gorse Hill were occupied by railwaymen who were moved there from Bell Vue, Manchester.  An article published in the Stretford Telegraph in 1907 painted a picture of the area as one built on a spirit of 'Co-operation, Socialism, Liberalism, Conservatism', and one where, 'the Salvation Army, and most religious denominations have representatives...' Together with its accompanying Pageant and dancing, the Rose Queen Festival involved many of the Gorse Hill residents, and was a particularly good way of getting young people co-operating in community activity and encouraging pride in their neighbourhood.

Morris dancing made its reappearance in Stretford in 1910, when introduced as an element of the festival, and continued until interrupted by the First World War (1914 – 1918). In this period morris was danced almost exclusively in the context of this festival. However, it is known that morris dancers took part in the official opening of Longford Park in May 1912, and that Stretford Morris Dancers performed at the Manchester Flower Show Carnival which was staged at White City in 1913. Trafford Park residents also introduced a Rose Queen Festival and Pageant in 1913 when the Rose Queen, Miss Nellie Hall, was crowned in the immediate vicinity of Trafford Hall, followed by dancing and plays. This was followed by a second such event in 1914 when there were Morris dancers at third position in the parade. 'The Queen and court having taken up their position on the dais, the ceremonial opened with fancy dancing, a bevy of girls in saffron caps and sashes, bells and wands, going through a morris dance.'

While the Gorse Hill Morris Dancers were the main dancers featured in the Stretford Rose Queen Festival, in the years leading up to the First World War at least one other morris dancing troupe was associated with Stretford: in both 1912 and 1913 the Gorse Hill Morris Dancers as well as Stretford Prize Morris Dancers took part in the Rose Queen event. Current research has located very little information about the Stretford Prize Morris Dancers, and no occasion has yet been identified when the troupe gained the right to be called a 'prize' troupe. Stretford Prize Morris Dancers did appear at the Urmston Horticultural and Poultry Show in August 1912:

 'The Stretford Prize Morris Dancers gave short performances and there were children's sports. A conjuring entertainment and an open air concert had to be abandoned. The band in the evening played in the poultry tent after the removal of the pens, and the Morris Dancers went through one or two dances under the same shelter.'

- Stretford Telegraph

Morris dancing soon became a key feature of the Stretford Rose Queen Festival. This growing tradition was likely to have been inspired by the success of Knutsford May Day, to which many people from Stretford flocked each year by railway. Other more local events may also have contributed to the introduction of morris dancing: such as memories of the lavish May Day celebrations held in Sale in 1893 which featured the Lymm Morris Dancers; the Annual May Queen Festival introduced at nearby Irlam in 1907, with its annual rotation of morris troupes; and the May Queen Festival held in Eccles. It is probable that the festival organisers were inspired, or at least influenced, by activities taking place in other towns where there were a large number of railway workers. In 1898 a carnival had been introduced in the railway town of Crewe. Alongside mass participation in the carnival procession by the staff of the town's Railway Works, in the early years of the twentieth century a troupe of Morris dancers had been formed from the workers of the railway's Fitting Sheds.  At nearby Horwich, near Bolton, the Horwich Prize Medal troupe of morris dancers was also likely to have been drawn from the railway employees: the first team of dancers was trained in 1891 by Mr. Harry Barlow, an employee at the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway locomotive works. 

On 20 August 1910, the morris dancing was included in the programme for the Stretford Rose Queen Festival and described in the local newspaper:  'Leading the procession around the principal streets of Stretford and Gorse Hill was the band of the 8^th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, who were closely followed by morris dancers in their quaint dresses and executing their peculiar dances.' The morris dancers were under the direction of Mr J.S. Smith of Longsight who had been recruited to train them. It is not known whether he danced with the Longsight Prize Morris Dancers who were active in the early years of the twentieth century. Following the crowning of the Rose Queen, dances were executed by morris dancers and maypole dancers.  It is fortunate that a set of Stretford Rose Queen Festival programmes has survived as they list the dancers by name. The 1910 troupe of dancers are listed in programme from 1910 (Fig. 3).

 The 1910 troupe (Fig. 3) was comprised solely of young men, all of whom who lived in or close to Gorse Hill. Apart from the leader, probably Stanley Harrop, who certainly led the troupe in 1911, and dancer Albert Thorley, the troupe were all teenagers. Only Albert Wright has not been identified from census research with a reasonable degree of certainty. Data from the 1911 census has revealed that the majority of these worked in clerical jobs, mainly for the Manchester Ship Canal Company, while others members worked as apprentices or, as did many of their fathers, on the railways.

Fig.4 List of Morris Dancers, Programme for Stretford Rose Queen Festival 1911. (Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection, TRA 438)

Fig. 5 Maypole Dancers at the Opening of Longford Park. (Trafford Lifetimes, Reference TL 0767, Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection)

In 1911 the Gorse Hill Morris Dancers became a mixed troupe, with an equal number of males and females, and it remained evenly mixed until the First World War. This change probably occurred because of difficulties in recruiting enough young men willing to participate. However, ten of the sixteen men who danced in 1910 continued to dance in 1911, five were still dancing in 1912 and two continued to 1913. Twelve female dancers and three new males joined the troupe in 1911, making a total of twenty-four dancers plus one leader. Twelve of the dancers recruited in 1910 or 1911 danced for at least three consecutive years, so for these years there was always a core of experienced dancers.

In 1911 the mixed troupe (Fig. 4) was again under the instruction of Mr J.S. Smith of Longsight. A report of the event in the Stretford Telegraph stated that: ' hundreds of people who watched the progress of the procession through the principal thoroughfares were loud in their praise of the spectacle and the performances at intervals by the gaily dressed morris dancers were much appreciated.' 

The majority of the male dancers who danced for the first time in either 1910 or 1911 served in the armed forces during the First World War with varied fortunes. As with many morris troupes active before the First World War, service in the conflict made a direct impact, with three killed in action and at least six known to have been wounded or adversely affected by serving in the conflict.

In 1912 morris dancing and maypole dancing by local school children formed part of the entertainments at the Opening of Longford Park in Stretford, on 11 May (Fig. 5). The names of the children are not known but the event may have involved at least some of the Gorse Hill dancers. Miss Marshall was one of those who took part in the dancing around the Maypole on this occasion.

Fig.6 List of Morris Dancers, Stretford Rose Queen Festival Programme, 1912. (Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection, TRA 438)

Fig.7 Stretford Pageant Programme, 1913. (Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection, TRA 438)

The Rose Queen Festival in 1912 saw a total of twenty-four dancers, again under the direction of Mr. J.S. Smith of Longsight (Fig.6). Of the twenty-four, eight males continued from the previous year and four new recruits joined.

The Stretford Telegraph reported: 'Heading the procession were the gaily dressed Morris dancers who indulged in their peculiar dancing to the lively strains of the Stretford Silver Band. A space was cleared for them through the crowded streets by a detachment of the mounted police....' In addition to the Gorse Hill dancers in prime position, Stretford Prize Morris were named in the programme as dancing at position twenty-two in the procession.

The morris dancers in the 1913 Rose Queen Festival (Fig. 7) were trained for the first time by James Clement Birtles, a railway clerk who lived in Harcourt Street, in Gorse Hill. Birtles had played a significant role in the organisation of the festival from its inaugural year in 1909, and indeed was critical for its success, as well as that of the dancers. In 1913 the morris troupe saw its lowest number of dancers in the pre-First World War years; with sixteen dancers: eight were females and eight were males. From this group only one female was a new recruit. All the rest had danced in 1912.

Fig.8 Photograph of Gorse Hill Morris (Image credit: Richard Nelson)

A surviving photograph of the Gorse Hill Morris troupe (Fig. 8) probably depicts the 1913 cohort as only eight dancers of each gender are depicted. The 1913 troupe had twelve members over sixteen, and only one member aged as young as fourteen. The photograph appears to have been taken on Thomas Street, in Gorse Hill, with the dancers facing away from the vicinity of 63 Norway Street.

The dancers' outfits were similar to those of other troupes of the period in the Manchester area. The skirts of the girls' dresses are considerably longer than those worn by the Gorse Hill Morris troupe in the 1930s.

The male costume was:

White shirt and plain, dark coloured tie; sash of similar colour to tie, about 3” wide and tied on the left hand side, with the ends dangling to about knee level; black trousers to just below knee; long black socks; leather ankle boots laced from base of calf to toe; wide brimmed hats with the brim on the left side pinned up by a black rosette with a lighter coloured centre, worn above the left ear. Each boy carried two white sticks about 15” long, bound with a black diagonal stripe with short ribbons at the free end.

The females were wearing:

White high necked dress with long sleeves which were worn rolled up to the elbows by some of the dancers. The skirts flair out from the waist and end about 2 or 3 inches below the knee. A sash of a lighter coloured material than the boys' sashes, was tied in a bow with the loose ends hanging down towards the knee. Some of these sashes are tied on the right, some on the left and at least one in the middle; black waistcoats that reach down from shoulders to the sashes, worn tied at the back and open wide at the front, with a row of button loops on both sides of the front opening; head scarves of a similar colour to the sashes; black stockings or socks; black shoes, some have a bar, others have laces. Each girl held a handkerchief in one hand.

The morris dancers took pride of place in the procession in 1913, with the Altrincham, Bowdon and Hale Guardian remarking: 'In the van of the procession were well-trained morris dancers whose dancing was much admired.'  The programme states that Stretford Prize Morris Dancers would dance after the crowning of the Rose Queen, Elsie Grant, and would be followed by the maypole dancers. Further down the list of events are morris dancers and maypole dancers, presumably the dance troupe from Gorse Hill.

Fig 9 List of Morris Dancers, Stretford Rose Queen Festival Programme, 1914 (Trafford Local Studies Centre Collection, TRA 438)

Fig. 10 Ordnance Survey Map of Gorse Hill, 1907 (Trafford Local Studies Centre Map Collection)

A completely new set of dancers (Fig.9) was recruited in 1914, probably because the experienced dancers had reached their late teens and were either in employment or could no longer be persuaded to participate, or a combination of both factors. The imminent outbreak of war is likely to have played a part in dissuading older dancers from participating, particularly the men who would soon join the armed forces.  As only first initials and surname for each dancer were provided in the programme, it has proved difficult to identify all the 1914 dancers with certainty. As it was also three years since the 1911 census, (the main source of information about young people at this time), we are unable to account for members from the families that had moved into Gorse Hill since that date. 

The report of in the Stretford Telegraph indicates that the dancers who appeared in the 1914 Pageant had been trained successfully: 'Then came a band of morris dancers, 12 boys and 12 girls followed by Liverpool Road Station Band.' Later in the procession came the Juvenile Old English Dancers, comprised of twenty boys and girls. After the crowning ceremony for the Rose Queen, 'a series of pretty dances on the green sward took place, the Stretford Morris Dancers, in Swiss dress, leading off to a lively tune[....]'   'The dances, except the one round the Maypole, were carried out under the direction of Mr J.C. Birtles, organiser of the Pageant, who is to be complimented upon the success of his efforts [....]'

No notation has been found of the dance(s) that either the Gorse Hill or other Stretford dancers performed in the period before the First World War. There is some film footage in the collection of the North West Film Archive of the Gorse Hill troupes active in the 1930s, but the style of dance performed was strongly influenced by the development of competitive Carnival Morris dancing in the 1920s, and is not helpful in determining how earlier dancers performed. It can be assumed however, both from the numbers of dancers – (who were always in multiples of four); and the style of the costumes, which are similar to those worn by other local troupes at the time, that the Gorse Hill troupe from before 1915 danced in the style now known as North-West Morris, which is characterised by figures that are danced both in static display and in procession. 

What can be concluded about the Morris in Stretford from the pre War period? Although there is some evidence of a morris tradition in Stretford, its influence on how morris was danced in the pre-1915 period is unknown. As Fig.10 demonstrates, those who took part in the Gorse Hill Troupe who performed at the Stretford Rose Queen Festival before the First World War were close neighbours in the Gorse Hill estate. The majority of dancers came from Lonsdale or North Lonsdale Streets, Harcourt Street, Gorse Street and Chester Road. Portland and Norway Streets also provided several dancers. The houses were substantial terraced properties with yards or small gardens at the back. Each house was connected by a passage so it can be assumed that the residents would have known each other well. In addition, the primary earners from each family worked not only in similar occupations but often often in the same place of work.

The sense of community this must have encouraged no doubt had the effect of 'normalising' morris dancing, rather than marking individuals out as different. Many members of the morris troupes had participated in the pageant in other ways prior to dancing and it was common for a number of family members to be involved during this period. Furthermore, there was active encouragement to participate from the adults in the community. While the First World War put a temporary stop to this activity, the spirit engendered in this period was strong enough to ensure that morris was revived after the War.