Plough Sunday
On Plough Sunday (the first Sunday after 12th night), we perform Molly dances from East Anglia. (Traditionally, these dances and rituals were performed on the first Monday after 12th night, called Plough Monday, but as most of us are at work on that day - unlike olden times! - we've moved the event one day earlier.)
The men, dressed in old farmers clothes and with disguised faces, typically carry a plough from door-to-door, performing a strange, stamping dance lead by the "head" couple - the Lord and the Molly (a man dressed as a woman).
The Sources
The Dances
The traditional dances, listed below, are from the villages of Comberton and Girton, both in Cambridgeshire:
To these traditional dances, we have recently added two “modern” dances:
On Plough Sunday (the first Sunday after 12th night), we perform Molly dances from East Anglia. (Traditionally, these dances and rituals were performed on the first Monday after 12th night, called Plough Monday, but as most of us are at work on that day - unlike olden times! - we've moved the event one day earlier.)
The men, dressed in old farmers clothes and with disguised faces, typically carry a plough from door-to-door, performing a strange, stamping dance lead by the "head" couple - the Lord and the Molly (a man dressed as a woman).
The Sources
- The Morris Ring archives
These archives contain twenty or so pages of historic information on Molly dancing, including:- a summary of the dances available according to the published evidence
- "A Penny for the Plough Boys" by Russell Wortley
- "Plough Monday 1933 at Little Downham" by William Palmer
- "The Comberton Broom Dance" by Cyril Papworth
- "Molly Dancing in South-West Cambridgeshire" by Russell Wortley & Cyril Papworth
- "Molly Dancing in East Anglia" by Joseph Needham & Arthur Peck
- "Polka Round - The Cambridgeshire Feast Dances and Comberton Broom Dance" by Cyril Papworth
This booklet was obtained from a dancer from Comberton visiting Vancouver. - "Folk Customs of Comberton" by Cyril Papworth
This audio tape, containing both instructional details and music, was obtained from the renowned English morris dancer Michael Blanford during the 1994 Travelling Morrice. - "Rattlebone & Ploughjack" by Ashley Hutchings
This commercially available recording contains a number of Molly tunes on side B. - The Belchamp Ploughboys
The Belchamp Ploughboys were filmed at the 1992 Saddleworth Rushcart festival. Their sources are believed to be the Morris Ring archives.
The Dances
The traditional dances, listed below, are from the villages of Comberton and Girton, both in Cambridgeshire:
- Birds a Building
- Cross Hand Polka
- Double Change Sides
- Gypsies im the Woods
- College Hornpipe
- Six hand Reel
- The Special
- Up the Middle and Down the Sides
To these traditional dances, we have recently added two “modern” dances:
- Plugholes (from the repertoire of Pig Dyke Molly)
- Arbury Court (from the repertoire of Gog Magog Molly)
Explore our Media Archive to see more photos and videos of us performing some of these dances.
