Bidford

A Morris side existed at Bidford-on-Avon in Warwickshire until about 1860. A musician called D'Arcy Ferris decided in 1885 to reconstruct and dramatise the extinct Morris and to tour it as a commercial venture called The Shakesperean Bidford Morris Dancers. The reconstruction was a melange of styles and not a reconstruction of the original tradition.

This side continued dancing into the 20th century and was seen by Cecil Sharp who dutifully collected and published the dances as authentic.

The Shakespeare Morris Men were founded in 1959 to restore and keep the Bidford tradition (sic). They also perform Mummers.

See: Musicians in 19th Century Southern England No. 16 John Robbins of Bidford-on-Avon, Warwickshire (1868 - 1948) by Keith Chandler

Known Dances:

• Morris On (Bidford Town Morris)
• Shepherds' Hey
• Constant Billy
• Old Woman Tossed Up
• Brighton Camp
• Abraham Brown
• We Won't Go Home
• Cuckoos Nest
• Princes Royal
• Bluff King Hal
• Morris Off