NORTHAMPTON MORRIS MEN
|
NORTHAMPTON MORRIS MEN |
|
|
HISTORY OF THE SIDE.
Northampton Morris men were formed in July 1949 to perform Cotswold Morris in and around the towns and villages of Northamptonshire . The kit at the time consisted of white shirt , white trouses with black shoes, but no hats.The side's baldircks were red with large rossettes at the crossing front and back. The rosettes were yellow with a small red centre. At the hips were more yellow rosettes with both red and yellow chevrons. The first squire was Ken York and the musician was Johnny Holeman. Northampton Morris men became members of the Morris Ring of england in 1952. In 1953 black knee breeches replaced the white trouses. The famous Northamtpon "horse" first made its appearance in 1956 , this saw valiant service and was replaced by a new one in 1982 . For this years Golden Jubilee the "horse" will undertake a course of restoration . The side's first fool was Malcom Purdy in 1957 wearing knee breeches , bells , short sleeved shirt , black hat and a straw wig. Today's fool is Barry Newman , his attire is as shown below.
The side is still dancing Cotswold morris dances , but with emphasis on the Badby tradition. 1989 saw the celebration of the sides Ruby Jubilee at Rushton Hall, Northamptonshire. This event triggered the arrival of the Northampton Morris Men's Beer Festival.This ran for several years during the 1990's at a farm near Bozeat, Northamptonshire. 1999 is the 50th anniversary of our formation, Golden Jubilee celebrations are well under way. Any side wishing to participate and wish to know more details please contact our bagman Neil Young , or keep a look out on this site for further details.
|
.The next change in kit took place in 1966 with the
introduction of straw hats. However in March 1978 saw a major revamp in the kit. Black
tricolours replaced the straw hats. New baldrics were made with the same basic red colour
scheme but with the addition of a thin yellow strip.