Laceby (Lincs)

1750

Lincoln Rutland and Stamford Mercury, 6/1/1750‘...several morris dancers came thither from Grimsby; and after they had danced and played their tricks, they went towards Alesby, a little town not far off; but as they were going about five o' clock they felt two such terrible shocks of the earth that they had much ado to hold their feet, and thought the ground was ready to swallow them up whereupon thinking god was angry at them for playing the fool, they returned to Laceby in a great fright, and the next day home not daring to pursue their intended circuit and dancing.'

Revesby

1779

Brands Antiquities

‘the dancing ploughboys being decorated in ribbons, each carrying a sword'

M.J.Preston

Plough play and sword dance appear very much part of a common performance which also included a short dance called ‘Jack the brisk young drummer'. ‘then they dance the sword dance which is called Nelly's Gig, then they run under their swords, which is called running Battle; then three dancers dances with three swords and the foreman jumping over the swords...'

Threekingham (Lincs)

1795

Diary of John Cragg ...'a number of young men join together, and strip to their shirts, which they pin all over with ribbons...They are called Maurice or Morris dancers.'

Haxey and Epworth

C 1810

Peck ; ‘...ceremony of dancing the morris recently discontinued.'

Kirton Lindsey (Lincs)

1821

L/R/S/M. 22/1/1821   ....'magistrates have  determined to visit with exemplary severity the misconduct of persons who appear as morris dancers or Plough bullocks or under any other name of similar character. The excesses of these persons have arrived at such a pitch that it would be impossible to bear them any longer, and it would be well if the country and the farmers in particular, would second the endeavours of the magistrates.'

Lincoln

1844

Stamford Mercury  12/1/1844

‘Two or three parties of morris-dancers were levying contributions on the public of Lincoln last Monday, for the purpose of closing the day's tomfoolery with drunkenness...'

Lincoln

1843

L/R/S/M. ‘the morris dancers amused the good folks of Lincoln with their tomfoolery on plough Monday and levied contributions on all who were silly enough to part with anything on such a call. The magistrates have forbidden the people to beg, and have placed strict injunctions with regard to ????? some of whom may beg from want, why ribbon-bedecked sword carrying buffoons and ruffians should not come within the bounds of the restrictions does not seem plain; they do not beg from necessity, but for the sake of getting money to spend in riot and excess.'

Helpringham (Lincs)

? mid C19th ?

M. W. Barley   ‘Mr Aram ....has stated that ‘the morris dancers went round with the plough boys; they used broomsticks to dance with'.'

C.H. Aram   ‘in addition to the play they trailed a plough and performed dances with brooms'.

C. H. Aram Nottinghamshire Countryside vol 7 no 3.

‘Brooms ‘borrowed' on the way were used for dancing;........the head of the broom was used to beat a rhythm on the floor, while the handle was tossed from hand to hand between the legs of the dancer.'

Old people to whom Mr Aram and Mr Kennedy spoke said that while performing the play they would carry sticks and at intervals jump over them.

Alkborough (Lincs)

Late C19th early c20th

M. W. Barley ‘all the time a rhythmic dance kept up to a fiddle or concertina.'

‘actors danced with each other or with the company'

Langwith (Lincs)

Langworth

mid C19th

E. Rudkin ‘..they were gaily dressed, danced, sang and acted the Mummer's play.

Mummers during Christmas time danced and acted a mummers play with a general dance for all at the end.

Ploughboys here also used to have a dance they performed where jumping over a broomstick was the chief feature.'

(Mr Howden Willoughton)

Barton-on-Humber

(Lincs)

1864

L/R/S/M 15/1/1864  ‘Ancient customs are all very well in their way, and so long as they are harmless in them selves and yet afford some little amusement and pleasure of association, let them survive; but some are indeed more honoured in the breach than the observance. During the last few days a party of morris dancers or plough-jarks, or both combined, have made Barton their head-quarters, whence to radiate into neighbouring villages, and a great ‘racket' they have made. In the evening the noise and uproar they made was a source of great annoyance, but they now appear to have brought the season to a close.'

Market Rasen (Lincs)

C1860-65

Watkinson ‘Recollections if a clay pipemakers son'

‘At Christmas morris dancers dressed in grotesque garb took possession for the time being.'

Winterton (Lincs)

1866

Stamford Mercury 5/1/1866

‘The Cattle Plague v Morris Dancers'

An application was made to the Winterton Magistrates on Wednesday last by several farmers, that they would stop the morris dancers from going round the different villages in their district. The magistrates requested Mr Supt Asling and his men to tell the morris dancers in their several beats that the magistrates wished them not to go about this year as they had been accustomed to do.'

Burgh le Marsh (Lincs)

1886

M.W.Barley   ‘Morris dancers made their last appearance at Christmas 1886.'

Barton upon Humber

1870

Stamford Mercury 14/1/1870

‘The ‘Plough Jacks', in their motley dress, mustered strongly at Barton on Plough Monday and paraded the streets, dancing in their uncouth fashion, accompanied by equally rude music. We imagine that if receipt of pence were separated from this ancient custom it would have been amongst the things that were long ago.'

Caistor (Lincs)

1878

Stamford mercury 4/1/1878

‘Morris-dancing is fast becoming a rarity, even in the rural districts of North Lincolnshire, but last week Caistor and the villages adjacent were visited by a full company of those rustic merrymen, the ‘Plough Jacks',.....

Frithville (Lincs)

C1880

....recounts ploughboys and morris dancers there. MWBP.

Brough on Bain

C1880

M. S. Carter ‘my brother once took part in morris dancing at Brough.'

Messingham / New Brumby (Lincs)

!881

R/W/G 14/1/1881 Larceny by morris dancers.

‘On Thursday last four or five men came into the shop dressed as morris dancers and disguised.

Willingham (Lincs)

C1885

(1954 E. Rudkin)

Mr Roberts aged 78, retired joiner, remembered seeing Morris Dancers here as a boy. He didn't know for certain if there was a Willingham team but he thought there was. The morris dancers were gaily dressed, and started going round about 5^th November until Christmas. They were a team of eight and carried broomsticks and acted...in their play there was a fight and a man was killed. The doctor came in and gave him a dose that brought him to life again. The doctor had a tall hat with medicine bottles on the brim, ranged round the front of the hat.

On plough Monday the ploughjags came round and brought a plough with them, they ploughed up the doorstep if refused admittance or not given money. They do not seem to have acted a play, but were dressed up ‘ugly' quite the opposite of the morris dancers who were gaily dressed. The same team of men were both morris men and ploughjags.'

Lusby (Lincs)

Late

C19th

.dancing an integral part of play....E. Rudkin1933

1. The musician plays tune ‘Little Brown jug' and Tom Fool does a step dance.

2. Musician plays 'Pop Goes the Weasel' and they all join in the old country dance ‘Join hands across'.

3. Musician plays ‘Pop goes the Weasel' players arrange themselves in pairs and dance

Lincolnshire

Late C19th

M. W. Barley JEFDSS vol 7 no 4 1955 quoting from Mabel Peacock.

‘Twenty or more ploughmen, with ribbons in their hats , dragged a plough from house to house on Plough Monday, accompanied by a troop of morris dancers including Besom Bet. Some of them wore a bunch of corn ears on their hats.........the dance danced by the Plough Jags was a kind of Country dance.''

Moulton Seas End

Late

C19th

Mr T H Rower of Boston who is 84 (1953) is quite precise in remembering morris dancers there at Christmas and ploughboys playing on plough Monday.' MWBP

Digby (Lincs)

E. Rudkin 23/5/31

1. ‘Bloy, who took the part of Tom Fool............before the plough play came in they used to go round doing Morris Dancing.'

2. ... a broom dance performed by Charlie Summer (Bert Summer).

Hemswell

Late

C19th

from Mrs H (at Hemswell) collected by E. Rudkin. 1932.

‘morris dancers came round with a broom, also ploughjags'.

‘morris dancers used to come round the towns near. We used to look forward to them coming because we had some rare fun. Quickly they'd come down the street, all in gay clothes and hats trimmed with jewels. Yes quickly they'd come down the street and into the house afore anyone knew it stopped them. Once in the house the chief man amongst them said a long ditty, very witty it was and then they'd do the dancing.

We had our own morris dancers out of the village too, and they came in with a broom sweeping all before them. The plough lads came round on plough Monday with their play of course.'

Heapham and

Blyton (Lincs)

c1896

1. Morris dancers dressed in tatters and shreds with broomsticks. They danced very swift and one fell on the floor. They came from Blyton. They danced in the daytime.

            2. Mr Mumby senior, saw morris dancers on the pavement at Heapham, six of them dressed in tatters and shreds, with broomsticks and handkerchiefs. They danced with very swift action, one of them fell on the floor. When the dance was over they went away so far to the next village. The team that was dancing at Heapham had come from Blyton. They danced in the day time.

Mr Mumby senior Willoughton 1954.

Lincolnshire

Late C19

P. Herring  Nottinghamshire Guardian 9/1/1925

‘bessy rattled his box and the ploughmen dance whilst the country lads blew their bullocks horns.'

Barrow-on-Humber

1898

FTX-105 Folktrax

‘The plough lad's dance performed by 8 dancers, using wooden swords 4 foot long made of witch-elm, is similar to that collected by Cecil Sharpe at Flamborough head, except that it has two rhythms. The first tune is ‘So early in the morning' and the second is a dance version of ‘My father He left me an acre of land.'

Luke Stanley ‘they used to step dance, they used to sword dance, do the cobblers knock and dance the broomstaff' also refers to dance done with two long clay pipes crossed like swords.

Burton on Stather, Winterton and WestHalton (Lincs)

Late C19th early C20th

Burton on Stather  ...Osbourne Redhead..'Marched through the village and made our way to Thealby, playing, singing and dancing through the village........to Normanby hall.... Danced in the courtyard with girls from Burton who came to dance with us.'

Broom dance collected from Mr Redhead.

Using two different brooms began with ‘stepping' rather like ‘setting' in normal country dancing either side of the broom handle as it lay on the ground, this occupied first 8 bars of music.

The performer then lifted the broom handle, leaving the head on the ground and passed the handle under and over each leg alternatively in a figure eight. This occupied second eight bars of music. The third eight bars saw a variant of the ‘B' section.

Another version from Sid Holdridge of Winterton...performed by the west Halton team...consisted of the second half only of the Burton one but the head of the broom was kept moving in a semi circular movement so that the outer edge of the head touched the ground alternatively. (survived till 1914).

Sutton Bridge (Lincs)

C1910

Mrs Houghton remembers Morris dancers at Sutton Bridge....boys wore tall hats.

Burringham (Lincs)

Survival till 1934

Burringham (plough play survived till 1934) a broom dance performed to the accompaniment of melodeon and side drum although in earlier days a base drum used as well.

Performed by the recruiting sargeant.