Bideford Folk Festival

Bedlams and Martha Rhodems Martha Rhoden's Tuppenny Dish

Although dancing Border Morris, we choose NOT to wear the traditional Border disguise.The team wanted a women's style - energetic, strong and graceful using big movements - so we use handkerchiefs rather than sticks to emphasise the big movements.

The Shropshire Bedlams
There are many learned texts recounting the history of border morris on the web but follow the link to John Kirkpatrick's website where he recounts the history of the two sides.

So if you want the whole story visit John Kirkpatrick for the history or find out what the sides are doing and how they do it on their own website. Bedlams and Martha's website

Cogs & Wheels Ladies Morris

were formed in 1995. We take our inspiration from Finch Foundry in Sticklepath and the surrounding Dartmoor landscape. Our costumes reflect the hues of the moor and our Beldames style of dancing is quite distinctive. Our original team of ten has grown each year and although some are relatively new to Morris dancing we believe that our enthusiasm and joy for the dance overcomes all obstacles! We perform a wide variety of dances from several traditions— mostly Cotswold, with some Border and some our own. The origins of Morris dancing are often disputed but even Henry VIII married six times to get a Morris side together!

The traditions have survived many centuries having been rediscovered by Cecil Sharp at the turn of the last Century. It has been a tradition of Morris dancing to pass the hat around the audience. Once it was an opportunity for people to thank the dancers for driving away evil spirits; now it helps with expenses such as the Federation membership and the enormous hanky-laundering bill. We also make regular donations to charities and this year we are collecting for Dartmoor Rescue - Okehampton Branch, and the MS Society. Visit Cogs & Wheels website

Red Petticoats are a team of lady clog-dancers who - supported by our musicians - perform a variety of traditional Morris dances from the North West of England (although we do dance some from other parts of the Country). Thursday night is dance night throughout the year - Winter for practice and Summer for performing We have a full programme of events which see us travelling all over North Devon as well as venturing into Somerset as well as joining in the annual festivals at Sidmouth and Swanage.

The Band consists of melodeons, an accordian, trombone, tin whistle and drum with accompaniment from tambourines and bells. The resulting sound is "music to the ears". Come and watch and enjoy - you may even be asked to join in! You will also see one or two of the girls roaming amongst you with post-cards and badges for you to buy. Every year we give a lot of money to local charities. Visit the Red Petticoats at for contact details and full bio

Host side Bideford Phoenix
was formed in 1989 by a group of people who enjoy dancing, playing music, singing and generally having a good time. The dances we perform mostly come from the villages of the Cotswolds. Considered to be the oldest tradition, "Cotswold" involves leaps and intricate steps as compared to other traditions. During the winter months, however, you will see us disguised with black faces, raggy jackets, and brandishing sticks to perform dances that come from the wild Border regions between England and Wales.

Bideford Phoenix Morris have as their colours the red, white and blue of England. On the front of our crossed baldrics we wear the town crest of Bideford featuring the old bridge; whilst on the back we have our own emblem - a majestic phoenix rising from the flames. We enjoy dancing at festivals around the country and at various local events and fetes, plus of course our favourite pubs in and around Bideford. We're always keen to welcome new members to our side (regardless of experience). Find out more about the side on their website

Firestone Youth Firestone
were Formed in 1996 they are now one of the premier teams in Britain. Performing a mixture of percussive dance styles centred around the Appalachian and Irish dance traditions, FireStone are lively, colourful and loud.

FireStone love to perform, and have done so at many folk festivals across the country - including Sidmouth festival. They come with their own stage, p.a. and band - just needing flat ground and a power socket to perform! FireStone is without doubt the largest group of its kind in the UK.

There are 6 distinct groupings within the FireStone banner - adult beginners, adult intermediate, adult team, youth beginners, youth intermediate, youth team, - all adding up to over 50 dancers. We teach the varying different styles from the very beginning at our classes in Exeter on a Wednesday evening, and take people from 6 to 70. All you need is a willingness to learn. Visit their website and find out more

Dead Horse Morris
is a dancing side from Whitstable in Kent, made up of the Dead Horse Morris Men and the new ladies team the Broomdashers. We perform a regional style of the traditional English Morris dance.

We practice during the winter months and perform in the local Kentish towns and villages in the summer, with some outings further afield. If you're interesting in joining us then please get in touch or come and see us dance at one of our events. See what we've been up to for the last 23 years by exploring our photo and video galleries, or view what the press has been saying about us.

You can learn the ways of the Dead Horse by studying our dance page that introduces you to our unique way of dancing. Or why not learn a few shanties from our song page to sing along to at one of our stands. Visit Dead Horse & Broomdashers on their website

We are named after the historic brand of matches manufactured in Gloucester for about 100 years by the Moreland family. The matches in turn were named after a French ship of advanced design, La Gloire, which accounts for the ladies costume of Edwardian sailor suits in the French national colours of blue, white, and red. The British navy's answer to 'La Gloire' was HMS Warrior now on show to the public in Portsmouth Dockyard. 'England's Glory' was also a popular song, telling the story of the ship to ship battle between the 'Saucy Arethusa' and La Belle Poule in July 1778. the tune for this song was 'The Princess Royal' which we use for the jig 'Bold Nelson's Praise'

In the summer we dance out at pubs in Gloucestershire, as well as visiting folk festivals, and appearing at village fetes and other events. Our repertoire is based on that of the ladies and girls side based in Ilmington, in Warwickshire in the 1920's and 30's, led by the legendary Sam Bennett . His side danced a version of the Ilmington tradition without galleys, to make the dances suitable for the long skirts of the period. We also have added some Border and Puedam material to add variety to our repertoire of 29 or so dances. Today we have over 30 members regularly performing, plus a few members who join us when other commitments allow. Visit England's Glory website

Sompting Village Morris
Are an English Morris side, formed in 1978, performing dance traditions that include Cotswold, North-West, Sussex and Border Morris. The 60-strong membership comprises a men’s team, a women’s team and a band of versatile musicians. Our dance programme ranges from Wednesday night stands at local Sussex pubs (ending with music and a sing-song) to appearances at national Folk Festivals, including Rochester, Shrewsbury and Nottingham, and international events in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and France.

Our traditional celebrations include the May Day dawn procession from Worthing seafront followed by the crowning of the May Queen; the Summer Solstice dancing-down of the sun on Highdown Hill with beacon and torches; and in the autumn the Battle of the Conkers. At Christmas & New Year, we enact the ancient, local Tipteerers’ or Mummers’ Play. For the Wassail on January 5th, join us with your drums and whistles for our torchlit procession. Sompting can be booked for corporate displays and fetes. For Medieval Banquets, Dickensian Feasts and other themed events, the company of Sompting Banqueteers perform colourful entertainments with music, dance and general mayhem. Visit Sompting's website

Heather & Gorse
Founded in 1984, Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers are a ladies only dancing side (but we do have male musicians!) based near Newton Abbot, Devon. We dance mainly North West Morris dances with the occasional Cotswold dance thrown in. Our main aim is to enjoy ourselves, but we also hope that we provide entertainment for others. We collect money for charity when we can - a past squire has estimated that we have donated about £5000 to charity since we started.

In the Summer we try to dance out at least once a week in the evening, usually at a pub. We also regularly dance at Sidmouth Folk Festival, Teignmouth Folk Festival and Brixham Heritage week. We like to spend at least one weekend away at a folk festival every year such as Wimborne, Swanage or Weymouth. Special occasions in the past have been – Dancing in the Millennium Dome August 2000 Dancing at Perros Guirec Festival of the hydrangeas 2003 Our kit is traditional with a blue skirt, white bloomers, white blouse and black waistcoat. We wear black clogs with bells. We also have a small band of musicians playing drums, concertinas, violins,..even a trombone! Visit Heather and Gorse website

Are a Mixed Border Morris Side based in North Devon. We chose our Colours from the Devon Flag. Our main aim is to have FUN! So, if you have a Fête, Carnival or other occasion to celebrate, why not include us? We perform a mixture of Traditional and more recent dances in the boisterous 'Border' style.

Brief, but they obviously have fun, visit their website for views of the North Devon countryside and some scarey videos and pics

Black Bess Border was formed in 1997 & was originally based in Dawlish, but moved to Kingskerswell as most members came from this area. The kit is based on the Highway man look, consisting of black tricorn hat, mask, white blouse, white cravat, red tatter jacket, black britches, white knee length socks and black shoes.

The style of dance is Border, which originated in the Borders of Shropshire and Wales. It is said that the coal miners of the area would travel to other villages and dance to raise extra cash to supplement their meagre wages. They would black their faces with coal dust so that they would not be recognised, hence the significance of our masks.

We dance mainly to traditional tunes, and the dances themselves are traditional or made up in the Border tradition.