Morris dancing tradition celebrated across UK this May Bank Holiday

Morris dancers are celebrating the arrival of summer across Britain this May bank holiday.

From its earliest recorded mentions in the 15th century to its place in contemporary festivals and communities, Morris dancing reflects six centuries of tradition, adaptation, and social change.

It was a symbolic ritual designed to celebrate fertility, community, and the renewal of life, and now a large number of groups across the UK are still entertaining crowds today, strapped with bells, waving handkerchiefs, and clashing sticks or swords, to the accompaniment of folk music, typically melodeon, concertina, or fiddle.

GB News had the honour of spending an evening with the Great Yorkshire Morris team, who were practising at the local village hall in Pool-in-Wharfedale, West Yorkshire.

Bob Carter, bagman (otherwise known as secretary) of Great Yorkshire Morris, has been Morris dancing for 50 years, and the team has been going for more than 20 years.

He said: "Morris dancing is part of the thread of our culture and when I started in 1976, there were only about three Morris teams in the whole of Yorkshire and when we went to a village to perform, the general reaction then was, 'oh, look at these funny men, who are they?' and now people know we are Morris dancers.

"We want to keep the traditions alive. We enjoy the practice as much as dancing out, we do collect money, and we've got to pay our expenses for the practice hall, but any of the surplus money goes to charity. It's a great way to socialise and keep fit and it's a lot of fun."

Its earliest surviving mention dates to 1448 and records the payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London.

When it first began, Morris dancing became closely associated with agricultural communities and seasonal celebrations.

Many dances were performed during spring festivals, particularly around May Day, symbolising fertility and the renewal of life.

These performances served both entertainment and social functions.

They brought communities together, marked important dates in the agricultural calendar, and reinforced local identity and tradition.

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Now, Morris dancing is still commonly performed at seasonal festivals, especially May Day celebrations, and in village squares, pubs, and community gatherings.

Morris dancing encompasses multiple regional styles, each with distinct characteristics, costumes, and music.

Cotswold Morris is the most widely recognised style and features movements performed with handkerchiefs or sticks.

Border Morris developed along the England-Wales border and the style is more theatrical than Cotswold Morris.

Other styles include: Clog Step, Longsword, Maypole, Molly, Mumming, North West Morris, Rapper Sword and Stave dancing.

Morris dancer and member of Great Yorkshire Morris, Sean Moss, said: "The outfit that I'm wearing for is, apart from the Yorkshire Flat Cup, is fairly traditional Cotswold Morris Square.

"Great Yorkshire Morris do Cotswolds Morris, we also do a Border Morris, which is from the border between Wales and England. We also do longsword, which is a Yorkshire tradition, and we do rapper, which is from the northeast.

"Morris dancing has been around since the 15th century, and then was a bit of a Victorian reinvention again, but really it's just about finding people enjoying themselves."

There are now more than 12,500 Morris dancers around Britain, in single-sex and mixed sides, are all keeping the genre going.

National organisations like The Morris Ring, The Morris Federation, and Open Morris maintain directories of member sides if you are looking to join a local Morris dancing group, with most welcoming newcomers and providing instruction for beginners.

Far beyond the English pub garden, sides have also been established across the world, from Australia to the United States and from Cyprus to Sweden.