David Barnes, a member of Horwich Prize Medal Morris Men, tells us something about the team’s history and looks forward to Horwich Carnival following on from recent appearances at the Day for St George and Shepley Festival.
Horwich Prize Medal Morris Men is having a great 2017 with a calendar full of performance invites. Locally the Day for St George in April and the Horwich Carnival in June are the big events.
The Day for St George brought the sun out on 22nd April and the good folk of Horwich were treated to a festival of morris dancing from four Lancashire teams.
Horwich Prize Medal Morris Men were joined by the women from the ever impressive Rivington Morris, the graceful Rumworth team from Bolton and the slightly rough at the edges Wrigley Head from Oldham.
Setting off from the Crown at 10am, fuelled by the hospitality of Gary and his team at the Morris Men’s base pub and dare we say it a fine barrel of Holt’s Best, the four teams processed in the north west tradition of morris dancing (quite unlike the Cotswold and the Border traditions) around the streets of Horwich, with clogs creating the percussive effect to the accompaniment of 4 bands playing the not so latest traditional tunes that enliven the morris scene.
These were quietened as Horwich approached the war memorial outside the loco works where many of the original dancers worked at the end of the 19th century.
Horwich Morris doffed their caps in tribute to so many, including former members who died in the Great War and since.
The procession continued up Ramsbottom Road and entered Victoria Road to face the Pike in its sunniest aspect with the dancers now looking forward to a well-earned refreshment at the Bank Top, joined by friends old and new.
Along the way Andy, who regularly turns out each year to marshal the procession, told me about the revival of the team in the mid-1970s, some 50 years after the original team ceased to perform.
In 1976, Andy and a group of friends challenged each other to learn the traditional dances which they then did so well that soon they were picking up accolades at festivals as far afield as the continent and Yorkshire.
Andy is also pleased that since the 1970s the team has had a continuous record of turning out each year with members coming and going but always maintaining the Horwich way of synchronised moves set off well by the smart attire of white, maroon and gold.
For one of the newer members, Daniel, this was a second Day for St George. He has found learning to dance to a public entertainment standard both challenging and exciting, not unlike my own experience having started somewhat later in life than Daniel.
Daniel commented that he has found dancing with the Horwich Morris Men a fun experience. “Once I got to know everyone it turns out that there’s plenty of banter to go round”.
The team’s foreman, Richard at 20 years old is possibly the youngest ever to hold that office with the Morris Men and he, with his usual wry sense of humour expressed pleasure at how the day had gone; “we all didn’t collapse” he said, but really he was very pleased with the dancing by the team and is now preparing them for a very busy diary of invited appearances in 2016, including the renowned Sidmouth Festival in August and the Rose & Castle event in Northamptonshire in a few weeks’ time.
The Horwich Morris Men will be making their customary appearance at the Horwich Carnival in June and will be seen out at several other events in Lancashire, including Rivington Morris’s 40th birthday celebration.
Richard has been dancing with the team for 14 years and has seen many people come and go but is very confident about the future of the team and expects to continue to give the town pride in a custom that has become more fashionable again in recent years with the new folk revival.
“Us morris dancers started the trend for beards and now the rest of the world is catching up with us” he says in a neat reversal of the common view of Morris Dancing as being left behind by popular dance music.
If you would like to find out more about the Horwich Prize Medal Morris Men, either turn up at one of the regular practice session at the Resource Centre on Beaumont Road, Horwich each Wednesday evening or contact the team’s secretary, Stuart Hall at secretary@horwichmorris.org.
Pictures by David Barnes