Abram Morris Dance

Where:	Formerly Abram, Lancashire at the Morris Dancers Ground at the end of Park Lane
When:	Formerly Last Saturday in June
Time:	Formerly 11am

Abram Morris Dancers were the only side in the country to perform in a circular formation, a style which is believed to be considerably older than the more common processional style used by others. Their annual day of celebrations in June was held to perpetuate their right to the Morris Dancers Ground in the village, which had been restored by them in recent times.” A plot of land in Park Lane, 20 yards long by 16 wide, is fenced round and known as the Morris Dancers’ ground. The enclosure was originally taken from the waste, and the generally received opinion in the neighbourhood is that if Morris Dancing be not celebrated once in twenty years, the right to the land lapses. To this belief the custom probably owes its preservation.” From The Memorials of Abram by John Leyland, 1882. The dance was revived during the 1980s after a lapse of many years and was until recently a well established date in the local calendar, with local schoolchildren sometimes contributing to the dancing, who will hopefully form the next generation to carry the dance on into the future…(see below).

Helpful Hints

The dancers sometimes toured local villages of Bickershaw, Hindley and Platt Bridge as well as performing “at home”. After the dancing a Lancashire Night often followed at the Community Centre. The full schedule would appear on the event website in early June, listing all locations and timings but always starting at Abram at 11 am at the Morris Dancers’ Ground.

In 2024 it had to be cancelled due to a lack of dancers and sadly the event has currently lapsed- more recruits are needed to carry the tradition on into the future. Hopefully it should return at some point (before the 20 years in the original record is over!). Potential participants should follow the links below.

Click here for the website : http://www.abram-morris-dancers.org.uk/

and here for the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/abrammorrisdancers/