Northwest Morris
Northwest Morris
Where
Lancashire and Cheshire
Context
Before the 1850s buildings were often carpeted with rushes, a plant which grows by water. Churches were an important meeting point for the community, and once a year the community would replace the rushes on the floor. This was a big occasion, there was a fancy parade and people often dressed up in special clothing Alfred Burton (1891) recorded that the men who carried the rush cart wore:
“straw hats with light blue ribbons, white shirt sleeves tied with many coloured ribbons, the brightest handkerchiefs possible for sashes ... ribbons ...below the knee”.
Morris dancers were an important part of these large community celebrations.
By the 1880s ‘Rose Queen’ festivals were established in this area which often included a decorative rush-cart made for the festivities and morris dancers. Towns competed to have the biggest and best team in the fanciest costume, sometimes even owning the costumes which were then hired to the dancers for the day. Two types of modern morris dancing have developed from this history. Carnival morris which has evolved from the large morris teams which performed at large town festivals and Northwest morris, sometimes also called clog morris, which recreates the old styles of dance.
What
Teams were limited by the amount of money which they had available. Some teams kitted themselves out in suitable items which were mass produced and could be brought relatively cheaply. For example a number of teams wore knickerbockers – a type of early football short, which would have looked similar to breeches, which are short trousers fitted below the knee. Other teams wore sporting headgear such as cricket caps. For those with more money velvet, an expensive, luxurious material was used to make breeches and waistcoats. Breeches were decorated with lace, ribbons and occasionally small bells. Zouave jackets which took their name from a famous French-Algerian regiment were popular in 19th century fashion and were also popular with the dancers. Many female teams wore white everyday dresses with a diagonal sash, which appears to have been symbolic of morris dance.
Modern Northwest morris teams often choose colourful clothing, inspired by the festival atmosphere of the old rush cart processions. Often these costumes are a visual link to the original dancers, with designs inspired by clothes worn by cotton mill workers who would have been the original Victorian Northwest morris dancers. Men’s teams often wear breeches (as did many of the Victorian teams), they often have colourful accessories such as a sash, rows of colourful beads and highly decorated hats covered in flowers and feathers.
Clogs
Whilst Victorian and Edwardian teams seem to have preferred smart black shoes, which would have been a change from their everyday clogs, many modern Northwest teams wear clogs (see Clog Dance). Clogs have become a distinctive feature of this style of dancing and the hard wooden sole, often covered in an iron (like a horse shoe) or a layer of rubber, makes a loud noise on hard ground. The dances often have heavy stepping, the feet hit the floor in time with the music and this is greatly enhanced by the clogs, the dancing thus producing a very upbeat carnival atmosphere.
Key words
bells, beads, breeches, clogs, feathers, handkerchiefs, knickerbockers, lace, ribbons, sash/es, sole, stepping, symbolic, velvet, Zouave.
