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Bampton Traditional Morris Men

  • BCA - 2023.4136
  • Part
  • 1920

Sam Bennett born (1865-1951) from Ilmington, a frequent dancer and musician in Bampton, this photo dated 1920
Sam had the distinction of being called “a rotter” by Cecil Sharp. He was responsible for reviving the Morris tradition in the Warwickshire village of Ilmington. Although a fiddle player himself, he learned the tunes from a local pipe and tabor player, Tom Foster, who “no longer had enough teeth to hold the pipe in place” In the process of reviving the dances, Bennett did some improving and inventing along the way. To Sharp, this was inexcusable meddling; what he most treasured about traditional dance was that is was supposedly not the work of individual creativity, but of centuries of continuous evolution by the common, preferably uneducated people. Bennett was recorded in 1933 by a Harvard academic, James Madison Carpenter. Being a self-taught fiddler, and having learned his tunes directly from a piper, it is little wonder that his playing, though very rhythmic, was plain and unadorned except with frequent open-string drones.

Janet Westman

Bampton Traditional Morris Men

  • BCA - 2023.4164
  • Part
  • 1980-90

Dancing in the grounds of the Deanery. Reg Hall on fiddle, Craig Godwin (back to camera) and Jamie Blackwell dancing a jig.

Janet Westman

Bampton Traditional Morris Men 1958

  • BCA - 2023.4171
  • Part
  • 1958

Bertie Clark. Fiddle rear Harry Hampton (fool) Peter Alum, George Hunt, Bobby Wells cake
Bertie (1877.-1958) was another Bampton Morris fiddler, but unlike Wells
was not born into the tradition. He was brought up in London, where he worked at a railway depot
in Camden Town. He had some violin lessons, and played in the railway staff orchestra. Sometime
before the Great War he moved to Carterton, the village next to Bampton. When in 1926 Jinky Wells
had a falling-out with his Morris side, and went off to form his own, Bertie Clark was invited to be
fiddler for the original Bampton Morris; he initially learned the tunes from Cecil Sharp’s published
manuscripts (presumably relations with Wells were such that he wasn’t going to teach them to
Bertie himself!) Recordings of his playing made in 1958 appear on Rig-a-jig jig; dance music of the
south of England from Topic Records’ "Voice of the People" collection. A listen to his playing is very
instructive. At the time he would have been 81 years old, was quite likely well out of practice and
possibly arthritic.

Janet Westman

Bampton Traditional Morris Men

  • BCA - 2023.4165
  • Part
  • 1980?

Bernie Basson, Jasper Walsh in jacket, and Cyril Smith on left enjoying a drink at a dance in Alvescot

Janet Westman

Bampton Traditional Morris Men

  • BCA - 2023.4163
  • Part
  • 1980

Dancing on Deanery Lawn Francis Shergold, Cyril Smith, poss Dave Rose, Terry Rouse

Janet Westman

Bampton Traditional Morris Men

  • BCA - 2023.4161
  • Part
  • 1973

Bampton Traditional Morris. Frank Daniels older brother of Bill in 1973. outside Town Hall

Janet Westman

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