The Bampton Community Archive came into being in 2002, the brain child of Jo(sephine) Lewington ably assisted by Tony & Lis Page. A request was sent out for old photographs, documents etc and Tony and Jo plus

The Bampton Traditional Morris men and Bampton Morris Men May 29th 2016 plus some of the visiting teams.

This is a list of Bampton Traditional Morris Men c1981 plus people who regularly had a connection with the side. It is hand written by Dave Rose for Francis Shergold but does not have Francis's details on it

These photographs are very likely to have been taken in 1913. The fiddler dancing a jig to his own playing is William Nathan Wells, better known as Jingy.

Colin and Gareth Knight dancing the Broom Dance

1950 Morris dancing in front of the Elephant and Castle on Bridge Street

Sam Bennett. He moved to Warwickshire but walked to Bampton to fiddle for the Morris at Whitsun. He would arrive at Mr & Mrs Townsend's Castle Farm on Bridge St and announce 'I be 'ere'. To earn his keep, he'd stay on for a few weeks doing farm work for Mr Townsend.

"The war took away many of the young men, and for the first time in recorded history the Whit Monday performances were suspended during 1917 and 1918. However, Wells had recently taught the dances to a group of men at Alvescot, and on the Whit Monday 1919 two of these stepped into the reformed Bampton set. One stayed only that year, but the older, William Flux, had married a daughter of long-time lead dancer Thomas Tanner, and became the organiser of the team.

This brought him into conflict with Wells - Flux wanted them to dance more at Pubs, Wells at the private houses - and this reached crisis point in 1925. The following year Wells refused to play for them, so both Bertie Clark from Alvescot and Sam Bennett from Ilmington were drafted in to provide music.

In 1927, for the first time in recorded history, two teams appeared on the streets: the old side under Tanner and Flux, and a young side recently raised by Wells. They continued in relatively peaceful co-existence for some years, but by the mid 1930s performances by the Tanner side were more sporadic, with only Wells fielding a team most Whit Mondays.

The final appearance by the Tanner team was in 1941, and it was left to Wells to keep it going during the war, and beyond." Keith Chandler

'Sonner' Townsend, real name Albert, started dancing in 1925. In 1980 when he was 76 he clocked up 65 years of dancing and fooling.

Alec Wixey on the left with Roy Hewitt Morris dancing with Bampton Morris Men

Arnold Woodley squire of the Bampton Morris Men on the left playing the fiddle, Brendan Cassidy on fiddle in the centre and Frank Purslow on the right.