The End of the Gate to Southwell Morris Dancers Procession

34 years ago, Bob Hine, ‘a twentieth century academic with nothing better to do’ instigated the revival of what was essentially an epic pub-crawl in fancy dress between Nottingham and Southwell, known as the ‘Gate to Southwell’ procession (‘gate’ being Old Norse for ‘way’ or ‘road’).

The procession commenced back in 1109AD when representatives from each Notts parish had to contribute to the building of Southwell Minster. A group including ‘Moryns’ or Morris Dancers duly walked and danced the fourteen miles from Nottingham to Southwell each year at Whitsuntide to pay their collective fifteen pounds – known as the ‘Southwell Pence’ – to the Church and, in true Notts spirit, turned being taxed into a boozy road trip. According to records, Nottingham Borough often got behind with their payments. Maybe they got tabbed by Robin Hood or spent it in the pub en route. After all, it’s thirsty work processioning, as Arthur Seaton nearly said. At any rate, by the 1700s the tradition had died out.

Leap forward to 1980 and Bob Hine, a member of the Dolphin Morris Men, was researching the history of Morris Dancing in the area. A manuscript reference to the forgotten medieval procession ignited his interest - a year and a lot of pub meetings later, on Saturday 6 June 1981, the first revival of the ‘Gate to Southwell’ set off from Nottingham’s Market Square. Dolphin, Foresters, Clifton Grove and Micklebarrow Morris Men took part along with sponsored walkers in period costume, raising around £600 for Oxfam and City Hospital Children’s Unit. Since then, different charities including Nottinghamshire Hospice have benefited from the annual event and many more local Morris teams have got involved, while Chris Gig took over the running of ‘The Gate’ in 1999.

As for the tradition that Morris Dancers were involved in the Medieval procession, Nottingham Chamberlain accounts in 1530 show that the council paid for ‘bells, coats and ale’ for the ‘Morryns’. In addition, the Mayor rode his horse at the head of the procession, although he might be ‘excused if the weather was inclement or the roads too bad’. These days, the procession starts outside the Council House in Nottingham at 9am. The Lord Mayor formally hands over the ‘Southwell Pence’ (a purse of pre-decimal coins) and engages in some banter that includes declining to pay for the dancers’ ale on the trip and being excused from leading the procession - the roads, weather and lack of horse presumably being against it. The Morris teams, musicians and charity workers then dance and walk via Weekday Cross and the Lace Market to Sneinton Hermitage for a time-honoured tongue-in-cheek speech from Tom Huggon of the Sneinton Environmental Society, before proceeding to the boundaries of the parish.

Most participants don’t walk the whole route to Southwell but complete it in relays, being ferried by bus between pubs at Burton Joyce and Lowdham and on through Caythorpe, Hoveringham, Thurgarton, Bleasby and Fiskerton. Along the way, Morris Men and Ladies perform traditional dances, jump in the river, gambol around a tree and enjoy a glass of ale or three. The entourage rolls into Southwell around tea-time, handing over the ‘Pence’ to the Chapter Clerk and performing a dance at Southwell Minster before finishing with – you guessed it – a pint in The Bramley Apple pub.

The event coincides with the weekend of Southwell Folk Festival, which started in 2007. Originally inspired by the ‘Gate to Southwell’ Morris procession, it has evolved into one of the leading folk events in the country, offering a great music line-up as well as its own programme of traditional dancing and over fifty different cask ales.

However, while Southwell Folk Festival goes from strength to strength, 2014 is the last year that the ‘Gate to Southwell’ procession will take place, due to pressures from changing laws governing street parades and the increasing cost of insurance and road closures.

So get down to Market Square at 9am on Saturday 7 June for your final chance to see men and women in bells and strange attire dancing through the streets of Nottingham on a beery adventure to Southwell. That is unless another Morris enthusiast unearths this article in the future and revives the tradition again!

The Gate to Southwell procession starts in Old Market Square from 9am Saturday 7 June 2014. Southwell Folk Festival runs from Thursday 5 - Sunday 8 June 2014.

Dolphin Morris Dancers website