A warm welcome to Bampton Traditional Morris Dancers, who have been guests at Winster Wakes in 1993 and also danced in the village in 1988. In their turn the Bampton families have welcomed Winster to a day of dance in 1985 and to their special Whit Monday celebration in 1998 and again this year. Their present leader or ‘Squire’, Tony Daniels and his father Bill danced on all occasions and have also been guests at a Winster wedding. Their party-piece dances, double jigs, are renowned. Francis Shergold, for many years the leader of the team (and now its president) also danced on all these occasions.
The small town of Bampton-in-the-Bush, south of Whitney in Oxfordshire, has its own group of morris dances. The Bampton dances, like those from Winster were first noted down systematically by Cecil Sharp and his collaborator, Herbert Macilwaine around 1908. Sharp published the dances of the two villages alongside each other in part three of The Morris Book, first issued in 1911. The Bampton dancers were already special, because, as Sharp wrote later in the second edition of the book “…the regular Whitsun Morris has been maintained there with no recorded break (except during the war) down to the present day, the only village in England of which this can with like certainty be said.” Sharp attributed this extraordinary fact to the location of Bampton deep in the Oxfordshire countryside and to the enthusiasm of one individual –William ‘Jinky’ Wells. Sharp gave legendary status to Jinky’s commitment, charismatic leadership, diplomatic skills, dancing prowess and persistence in reminding the village about the value of their special custom. (But, Mr. Sharpe, could he shout like Roy Witham?).
In the style of the Cotswold area, Bampton usually have a set of six dancers, usually with one musician and a fool. White waistcoats and bowler hats with long ribbons characterise the dance costumes. One of their most well-known dances is ‘Greeny Up’ or ‘Bonny Green Garters’ which frequently ends the display. On their special day, Whit Monday, they are accompanied by a cake-bearer who gives people in the audience little pieces of cake for good luck, cut from a big fruit cake in a tin. The cake and tin are pierced from underneath by the ‘Wilkinson’ sword which is used to carry them round.
Whit Monday in Bampton sees three teams from the village dancing from morning until night. There is a friendly rivalry and minor differences of style, but all share the same heritage. As well as our guests the Bampton Traditional Morris Dancers, there are ‘The Blue Ties’ (the team led for many years by Arnold Woodley) and a third group. The latter is a group of friends led by Squire Matthew Green (a schoolfriend of BTMD squire Tony Daniels) who have been regular dancers with one or other team in the past and now choose to dance at Whitsun on an informal basis.