The Revival of Morris Dancing
in Kingston at the
1911 Coronation Pageant of King George V
Summary
Prior to 1900 Kingston had an indigenous tradition of Morris Dancing and May Day practices. The May Day celebrations of 1902 were disrupted by bad weather and the 1911 coronation of King George V then saw the first recorded Morris Dancing in the area in the 20th Century.
Introduction
An analysis of the 1911 revival was written by George Frampton in 1984 for the 75th anniversary and published in Morris Matters [1]. My thanks to Beth Neill, editor of Morris Matters, who gave permission for 'Reviving the Morris at Kingston-on-Thames - 1911 style' to be reproduced in full [here]. I have not attempted to re-write the same excellent article, but rather to examine evidence for indigenous Morris in Kingston prior to the 1911 revival, determine the steps led up to the 1911 revival and provide some additional supporting evidence. I am grateful to Jill Lamb and Emma Rummins of the Kingston Local History Room Archives without whose help very little would have been achieved.
Time line of Morris in Kingston: 1870 – 1911
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Pre-Revival Morris Dancing “indigenous” to Kingston
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1890s
1893 |
--
-- |
Whitsun
Easter |
Dr Finny notes an interview with a man who danced Morris at Kingston’s Whitsun Pleasure Fair around 1870-80
Jack-in-the-Green and girl dancing to a man with a pipe and a boy collecting in Richmond |
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Celebrations planned and executed for the Millenary of Edward the Elder |
1902 |
-- |
26-Apr |
Mrs Peter Davey to observe Knutsford’s Royal May Day celebration, including Morris Dancing and to reproduce it in Kingston |
1902 |
- |
05-May |
Peter Davey’s program will include a Maypole dance |
1902 |
-- |
17-May |
A ballet depicting an Old English May Day with revels – Morris dancing, Maypoles and a May Queen |
1902 |
-- |
19-May |
Procession though the streets of children who are to Crown the May Queen, and perform Maypole and Morris dancing |
1902 |
- |
21-May |
Hurricane and deluge stops Morris performance |
1902 |
- |
17-Jun |
Morris was to have been danced in the celebration |
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Celebrations planned and executed for the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary
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1911 |
-- |
08-Jun |
Final rehearsal of the whole pageant including Morris dancers from the Bonner Hill Schools |
1911 |
- |
10-Jun |
Detailed plan of the pageant including Morris Dancing |
1911 |
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17-Jun |
Rehearsal by Miss Lynn and Miss Watkins’s class – no Morris |
1911 |
- |
24-Jun |
Morris performance to extended applause from the audience |
Pre-Revival Morris Dancing “indigenous” to Kingston
Morris Dancing was alive and well in Kingston 1870/80s as reported by Dr Finny [2] who wrote:
"One Old Kingstonian, who is now nearly eighty, remembers when as a boy he and seven others, with 'Jack in Green' and a piper who also beat a drum, dressed themselves up and "went about the town 'gigging' on May Day." They went from house to house and did simple traditional dances which he learnt from the others, and they sang:
The first of May is Gala Day,
Give us a penny and we'll go away.
"A lady who is over ninety-one years ... also remembers that the dancers were dressed up fantastically and had long waving streamers and coloured ribbons from their hats and costumes, and that they had a man with them who played a pipe and beat a drum, while they danced around the maypole, and did jerky dances which the people called 'gigs.'"
The Whitsun fair was established in 1351 and was held in the market place, but was abolished as a nuisance in 1889. [3] The Annual Great Cattle Fair held in November also had a three day pleasure fair attached, but was lost when the Cattle Fair was moved to the Fair Field. [4]
"The authorities at Kingston have decided to continue the annual great cattle fair, but to abolish the three days' pleasure fair. Alderman Marsh stated that every year there had been some serious case of infectious disease among the people attending the fair, and some of the inhabitants had probably suffered from the infection brought by the travelling caravans."
Jack-in-the-Green in Richmond
The closely associated Jack-in-the-Green is seen dancing in Richmond [5].
"I saw a Jack in the Green in Richmond, Surrey at Easter 1893. As far as I can remember, his cage was covered with yew trimmings. His arms were inside it and he looked out through a round hole. He was accompanied by a girl, whom a bystander described as "a Maid Marian", and by a man with a pipe to whose music Jack in the Green and Maid Marian danced while a boy collected pennies."
Celebrations planned and executed for the Millenary of Edward the Elder
There is no record of the dances performed in Kingston before 1900 and when the idea of a Traditional May Day was proposed for the 1902 Millenary Celebration of Edward the Elder [6], an unexpected suggestion was reported in the Surrey Comet:
“And to many the most attractive feature of the programme will be the very pretty May Day festival, which will be carried out under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Davey. In order to secure that this part of the proceedings shall be done in the good old style, Mrs. Davey has kindly undertaken to to go down to Knutsford, in Cheshire, where on May Day the whole ceremony of the crowning of the May Queen, with attendant threading of the Maypole and the Morris dancing, is still kept up, and it will be reproduced as nearly as possible here on Whit Monday.”
Knutsford Royal May Fair was the most famous of the Victorian May Days and had received Royal patronage in 1887 from the Prince and Princess of Wales [7], and [here] is a report of the 1902 fair that Mrs Davey planned to visit.
"Later in the morning, as the time for the procession draws nigh, one-half the town is
busily engaged in dressing the other half. The Morris Dancers, who - headed by the master of ceremonies on horseback - make a brave show in their snow-white shirts and floral chaplets, require a good deal of attention, and even more, of course, has to be given to the large number of children who take part in the procession."
The style of Morris danced in Knutsford would have been "North-West Morris", that differs from the "Cotswold Morris" of 20th Century in Surrey.
Peter Davey, an amateur dramatist, was perhaps most famous as a writer of pantomimes, and it was to Peter Davey and his wife that the re-creation of Knutsford Royal May Day in Kingston was entrusted. The Whit-Monday Celebration was held in Dinton Field, St Agatha’s Drive off Latchmere Road, Surrey Comet reported the event
[8]:
"The Crowning of the May Queen, with Maypole and Morris Dances, by the children of the Royal County Theatre Pantomime Company, was a feature of the afternoon’s amusements eagerly looked forward to by young and old, and when the gaily dressed procession arrived and made the grand tour of the arena before ascending the stage in the centre, one could not help feeling that the Merrie Month of May was in reality with us. For some time prior to the arrival of “Her Majesty” and court the ribbons of the Maypole had been untwisted and held min position by Mrs. Peter Davey and Mr. J. E. Edgcome, but at this point the clouds gathered blackly in the sky, and cold north-westerly winds blew ominously across the ground. Rain descended as the children began their old-world Morris dance in front of the stage, and they proceeded to take the coloured streamers in hand, but the Maypole dance had scarcely commenced when the shower assumed the proportions of a deluge, and the breeze stiffened into a hurricane, positively forcing the Maypole from its place, and the large floral crown was seen toppling over. Luckily the children saw the occurrence and avoided its fall, but the rain was too heavy for a prolongation of the scene, and at Mr. Davey’s direction they all scampered away to the dressing tent. The storm lasted twenty minutes, and the refreshment and other tents were closely packed by those who were fortunate enough to get under shelter; the majority of the spectators however remained in the open, and umbrellas and mackintoshes were brought into active use."
So after all the preparations, any planned Morris Dancing was rained off, there is no record of the style, and the revival of Morris had to wait for another occasion.
Remarkably, the intention to include Morris Dancing in the Millenary was noted as far away as New Zealand for example in the Coronation Notes article from the New Zealand Colonist [9]:
CORONATION NOTES
TWO EDWARDS — A COINCIDENCE
While the thoughts of the Empire are becoming daily engrossed with the coming Coronation of King Edward VII.; the loyal borough of Kingston-on-Thames went back a thousand years to the time of the earliest Edward who wore an English crown. For it was at Kingston that Edward "the Elder," son of Alfred the Great, was crowned, and the Millenary of the event was to have been celebrated there with old English revelry of Maypole and Morris dance shorty before the latest Edward is anointed at Westminster.
A juxtanation of the two Edwards separated by so long an interval of English history presents an interesting coincidence of figures :—
King Accession Coronation
Edwd. the Elder a.d. 901 a.d. 902
Edward VII a.d. 1901 a.d. 1902
The date chosen by Kingston-on-Thames for its local commemoration of Alfred's son was Whit Monday, which is specially appropriate because it was at Whitsuntide that Edward the Elder was actually crowned.
Celebrations planned and executed for the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary
The Photograph, from 1921 Historical Pageant, shows Dr Finny in his favourite Beadle's costume.
Dr Finny is given responsibility for organising the Pageant, a second chance to revive Morris Dancing. Fourteen days before the performance the Surrey Comet reported on the final rehearsal including Morris Dancing by the Bonner Hill schools. [10]
"The final rehearsal of the Children’s Pageant in connection with the forthcoming Coronation Festivities was held on the lawn of the barrack-square of the Depot of the East Surrey Regiment on Thursday morning, under the direction of Dr Finny, who has been working exceedingly hard to make this part of the day’s proceedings a success.
Judging from what took place on Thursday, there is little doubt that the performance which the selected band of children will give in Home Park on June 22 will be one of the prettiest spectacles seen in this neighbourhood for a long time. The Officers at the Depot have been exceedingly kind in allowing the rehearsals to take place on their beautiful lawn, and on each occasion the band has been present to play the incidental music. There Maypoles have been erected and the children have been well drilled in their various parts. The crowning of the May Queen is naturally a pretty scene, and the braiding of the maypoles, the country dance, the Morris dances, and the final “Sir Roger” in which the whole of the 200 children participate, present really charming pictures. All who witnessed the rehearsal came away delighted with what they had seen.Beside the dances there will be some Old English sports, and a grand finale of Britannia and her Colonies. 
A class of girls trained by Miss Lynn and Miss Watkins take the centre maypole and do some very pretty dancing. Girls from St John’s, and boys from St Paul’s are very expert with the other maypoles. Boys from St Peter’s are being trained by Sergeant Wyatt, drill instructor at the Depot, in Old English sports; St Peter’s schools will furnish a contingent of 24 girls who take a prominent part in the pageant; and from the Bonner Hill schools come the Morris dancers. St Luke’s children furnish the concluding spectacle of Britannia and her Colonies"
The Photograph is of Bonner Hills School Empire Day 1922 with a tableau of Britannia and her Colonies.
The Coronation - Arrangement for next week's festivities
Nine days later the final arrangements are described with the same formula as was planned for the 1902 Millenary and as was taken from Knutsford. Morris and county dances are see as distinct; Sir Roger de Coverley remains a popular country dance. [11]
“There will be the ceremony of crowning the May Queen, dancing round the maypoles, morris and country dances and some other sports, concluding with a tableau of Britannia and Sir Roger de Coverley.”
Rejoicings in Kingston and the Surrounding Districts
The coverage of the procession from Fairfield to Home Park, over one mile in length from the leader to the last and four abreast, the May Queen being drawn in her carriage by the Merrie men, crowning of the May Queen, Maypole dancing, and finally Morris Dancing is fulsome, read the [full report here]. The Morris Dancing was scheduled as the last item, the climax to the set of may day activities copied from Knutsford. [12] The notable difference being that in Knutsford the style of Morris danced was North-West Morris where as in Kingston the style danced was Cotswold Morris.
"The trumpets sounded again and the Morris Dancers, sixty four in number, took possession of the field. Their exquisite dancing was accompanied by the jingle of the bells on their garments, and was a sight to be remembered, receiving prolonged applause."
Conclusion
The Revival of May Day practices in Kingston can be split into two parts, first, the Procession, Crowning of the May Queen and Maypole dancing that was copied from Knutsford, and second, the Morris Dancing that was neither indigenous nor from Knutsford; the probable source was Mary Neal and Cecil Sharp's classes and publications.
Colin Messer, 11th March 2011
[1] Frampton, G. 'Reviving the Morris at Kingston-on-Thames - 1911 style', Morris Matters, Vol7(1), pp10-11, 1984
[2] Finny, W.E.St.L, 'Mediaeval Games and Gaderyngs at Kingston-upon-Thames', in Surrey Archaeological Collections, Vol 44, pp 102-136 (1936)
[3] A History of the County of Surrey, Vol 3 (1911) p501
[4] British Medical Journal, Dec 6 1879
[5] Letter to the Times 6 May 1930
[6] Millenary Celebration on Whit-Monday - Order of Program - Surrey Comet April Th 1902
[7] Knutsford Royal May Day http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/charter/knuts.html
[8] Whit-Monday Report - Surrey Comet May 21st 1902
[9] New Zealand Colonist, Volume XLV, Issue 10437, 17 June 1902, Page 4, available through [New Zealand PastPapers]
[10] Coronation Festivities - Surrey Comet June 8th 1911
[11] Final Arrangements - Surrey Comet June 17th 1911
[12] Rejoicings in Kingston and the Surrounding Districts - Surrey Comet June 24th 1911