Notable Dates in the History of MM
1920s
- 1921 Men's Morris classes were started by the Manchester Branch of the EFDS
- 1929 Men's Morris display team formed and (by the autumn) are meeting for practices, rather than lessons
1930s
- 1930
From the start of 1930, the Men's Morris team were in effect, an
autonomous group; although still part of the Manchester EFDS, they made their own
practice arrangements and decisions on when to dance in public.
[photo of MM at Flowery Fields, Hyde in June 1930] - 1933 Men's Morris team learn the Royton dance from Royton dancers, during the 1933/34 winter months ; no evidence of it being danced by MM in public
- 1936 Men's Morris team join the Morris Ring ; 'dance into the Ring' at the Grasmere Ring Meeting
- 1937 Harper Crompton (of West Yorks MM) & MM collect the Godley
Hill dance ; and dance it at the Tideswell Ring Meeting
[photo of MM at Tideswell, 1937] - 1938 First documented reference to a "Manchester Morris Man" in the EFDS Minutes ; Manchester Ring Meeting
- 1939 Longridge Ring Meeting
1940s
- during WW2 MM continued both practices and public shows, as there were sufficient dancers in 'reserved occupations' or 'employed in war work' locally. At times, the numbers were made up by one of the competent dancers from the Holy Name Scouts morris & sword team.
1950s
The 1950s was the decade that shaped much of what MM are today ; with significant research into the North-west dances, the introduction of full day tours round the local areas, and the first foreign trip.
- 1952 Dance the revived Godley Hill dance at Cecil Sharp House
- 1953 Mid-Cheshire Tour, with Manley MM (first recorded tour
arranged by MM)
[photo of team on 1954 tour, at Little Moreton Hall] - 1954 (September) Tour of the Hyde area; where MM danced the Godley Hill dance at Godley Hill
- 1955 Danced the revived Mossley dance ; wearing clogs for the first
time, when we danced at Mossley in September; Manchester Ring Meeting
[photo of team in M/cr city centre] - 1957 Adopting a more 'authentic' North-west look, photos now show MM wearing sashes, rather than baldricks
- 1958 appeared, with Manchester EFDSS ladies, at Nice Folk Festival
1960s
Information on the 1960s is very patchy, as there is no scrapbook or other documents kept from the period. This was however corrected in 1969 with the introduction of a Log Book and scrapbooks.
- 1961 Continuing the move to our current style of kit, photos now show braid on breeches ...
- 1962 ... and Lancashire Bell Pads replace Cotswold bells, for the North-west dances ...
- 1964 ... and we stop wearing hats for the Cotswold dances.
- 1968 Introduction of regular Thursday evening tours during the summer months
- 1969 Hosted a visit to Manchester by Örnrungen Folkdanslag of Sweden ;
appeared at Sidmouth Folk Festival
[photo of team at Sidmouth Folk Festival in 1969 - courtesy of Mike Trevethan]
1970s
- 1970 Week's tour of sweden, hosted by Örnrungen Folkdanslag of Örnsköldsvik
- 1971 Manchester Ring Meeting ; Red "undress" hats (worn for Cotswold dances) delivered in time for the Ring Meeting ; Squires badge commissioned ; presented the Ring with the silver stands for the Squire of the Ring's staff
- 1974 came second at Llangollen International Eistedfodd ; and first at Teesside Eistedfodd
- 1975 First time danced Medlock in public (at Ladies Evening)
- 1976 Manchester Folk Prom ; Folk Moot in Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 1977 Manchester Ring Meeting ; Sidmouth International Folk Festival
- 1979 First time we processed at Knutsford Royal May Day
1980 and after
Details, in the format used above will be added later.
A more complete list of events, tours, and other facts about MM is also available. Clicking the link at the start of this paragraph will open a 4 page 'pdf' file in a separate browser window.