A second Downton Abbey film is being made and once again Saint Mary's church, Churchgate House, the Old Grammar School and the area around the church in Bampton will be used for some of the location shooting.
This lovely black and white photograph shows the Bampton Traditional Morris Men standing on the steps of The Deanery in 1973. The people include:- Dave Rose Tony Applegate Frank Daniels Pete Allam Francis Shergold, squire of the side Jim Buckingham Ralph Harrison Jasper Walsh Ray Borrett Mark Harrison Cyril Smith Alan Hampton Martin Ferguson Michael Wheeler Tony Daniels Bob Allison, with cake and collection box Bill Daniels Harry Hampton Reg Hall, musician Shaun Mullis Michael Hampton Gary Harrison Terry Rouse Roy Shergold, the fool
These two pictures show the cake holder and the collection box used by the Bampton Traditional Morris Men. The inscription on the cake holder reads:-
In Memory of William Wells, 1868 - 1953. The gift of the Morris Ring to The Bampton Morris Morris Dancers. William Wells was known to all locals as Jingy.
The inscription on the collection box reads:-
Presented to The Bampton Morris Dancers 1990 by Bob West (and) Eric Stott
Terry Rouse began dancing in 1964 for Francis Shergold's Morris side. That year was a very wet time and Francis's side was in need of somewhere out of the rain to rehearse ready for Whit Monday and Terry invited him to use his barn at Backhouse Farm. Already a keen dancer of both ballroom and country dancing, Terry loved what he saw and asked to join the side and so began a long career both as a dancer and in the later years the Morris Fool, finally retiring in 2000.
It has become the custom to take a group photograph of the Bampton Traditional Morris Men when they dance at Grey Barn on the late May Bank Holiday Monday. This is usually about 9.15 to 9.30am. Dancers and musicians in the photo include:-
