FTX-111 - THE PLOUGH STOTS

CLEVELAND SWORD DANCE

The Long Sword Dances of North Yorkshire originally formed part of a Plough Monday ritual with a Plough Play. The dancers were fools, locally known as "Plough Stots". Cecil Sharp described one such dance at the village of Sleights. This recording features the musician, Arthur Marshall, playing melodeon for a young man's Long Sword Dance team at Loftus. In addition there is an important background talk about their revival by Mr Normanton, headmaster of the school. Also included is an actuality of the complete performance recorded at Scarborough in 1953. Then North Skelton (as collected by his father) played by Peter on melodeon.

1. The tunes (John Peel, Oyster Girl, Lass o Dallogill, Keel Row & Cock o the North) played by Arthur Marshall (melodeon) - 3'03"

2. Talk by Mr Normanton about his own research into the existence of teams at Loftus and other villages such as Skelton and Lingdale. He mentions Cecil Sharp's book "Sword Dances of Northern England" and the early musician, Mr Winspear. How he started with Morris with the help of Victor Simpson and then his boys started on the sword dancing with the help of Mr Marshall. He tells of a Mrs Martin, sister of George Featherstone, who has given him more information. He mentions too a member of the Goathland Plough Stots who lived in Loftus. He himself has photographs of a Loftus team at Chesterfield in 1892 and another in 1926 and Mrs Martin still has a set of swords, which originally cost 8 pence each, which he hopes eventually to obtain for historical reasons. He talks about the present team of boys, their practices and performances at Scarborough - 9'59"

3. Complete performance of dance by the Loftus team with their musician, Arthur Marshall (melodeon), recorded by Peter Kennedy at Scarborough in 1953. John Peel (the March on), Figure One (The Oyster Girl), Fig Two (The Lass o Dallogill), Fig Three (The Keel Row), Fig Four (The Cock o the North), and Fig Five (The Keel Row) followed by applause - 14'13"

4-8. North Skelton Sword Dance (as collected by his father) played by Peter Kennedy (melodeon): 2'26 - 2'32" - 2'43" - 2'14" - 3'28"

Recorded by Peter Kennedy 1953. Edited by Peter Kennedy and first published on Folktrax Cassettes 1975.

To give some idea of the figures used by the Cleveland Long Sword teams, here are the names of the movements as collected by Douglas Kennedy from the North Skelton team:-

Fig.1. HIGH CLASH/ SHOULDERS RIGHT/ SHOULDERS LEFT/ ELBOWS/ OVER YOUR NEIGHBOURS SWORD (16 bars)/ HILT-AND-POINT RING/ DOUBLE UNDER (No.1's sword leading)/ RING/ DOUBLE UNDER (No.2's sword leading)/ RING/ DOUBLE UNDER (No. 3's sword leading)/ SILENT LOW BASKET/ LOW CLASH/ THE BACK LOCK/ THE ROSE/ DRAW (16). (144 bars of music)

Fig.2. LOW CLASH/ CROSS OVER/ THE HEY/ CLASH AND MARK TIME/ THE POUSETTE (16)/ THE ROLL (32)/ THE CIRCULAR HEY/ THE HILT-AND-POINT RING (16)/ CLASH HILTS & LOCK (40). (144 bars)

Fig.3. HIGH CLASH & SHOULDERS (24)/ RING/ OVER YOUR OWN SWORD (24)/ RING/ DOUBLE OVER WITH RINGS (40)/ CIRCULAR HEY (1 facing 6)/ BACK RING (16)/ THE TURN-IN LOCK/ ROSE & DRAW (16). (160 bars)

Fig.4. HIGH CLASH & SHOULDERS (24)/ RING/ SILENT LOW BASKET/ LOW CLASH/ GUARD OF HONOUR (32)/ MOVE DOWN & CAST/ RING/ HIGH LOCK, ROSE & DRAW (Left hand) (128 bars)

Fig.5. HIGH CLASH (Left hand)/ HIGH BASKET (R.H.)/ HIGH CLASH (R.H.)/ SHOULDERS/ RING/ INDIVIDUAL TURN (32)/ LOW BASKET/ LOW CLASH/ THE COLUMN (16)/ PROGRESSIVE WINDOWS & ROLL (48)/ STRAIGHT HEY/ RING/ RIGHT-OVER-LEFT LOCK, ROSE & DRAW. (208 bars)

One local version of the dance, best known outside Cleveland, was collected by Peter's father, Douglas Kennedy, from the "Plough Stots" at North Skelton in the 1920s and Peter first learned to play button accordion from the team's musician, ironstone miner and Union leader, George Tremain. A complete description of the North Skelton dance, as collected by Douglas Kennedy, was published by The English Folk Dance and Song Society, London, 1927.

GEORGE TREMAIN, the melodeon-player of the North Skelton team, can be heard playing the tunes for the North Skelton Sword Dance, as well as for a number of Yorkshire Country Dances, on FT-329.

An example of the type of Plough Play that originally preceded the dance was recorded by Peter Kennedy in Lincolnshire on FTX-105.