40 Years of Morris
Innovation and Tradition: 40 years of Morris
3 November 2020 - 9 October 2022
Outside Somewhere in England Gallery, Free Entry
Redbornstoke Morris Team, Jack ‘O the Green Festival, Hastings, 2015, © Chas Leslie
The last forty or so years have seen great shifts in what most people think of as a fixed and unchanging English tradition. This display challenges our ideas of tradition and explores the impact of innovation through the story of local Morris teams, Redbornstoke Morris and Bedfordshire Lace Morris.
In Bedfordshire, Redbornstoke Morris drifted away from tradition and developed their own dances, while Bedfordshire Lace Morris became the first women’s Morris team in the county. Both teams are considered to be innovative as they challenged the traditional ideas of their time and over the years, they and teams like them have become a part of Morris tradition.
This display features original costumes, archive photographs and objects connected with these teams over the years.