OXFORDSHIRE’S love affair with morris dancing is being celebrated at a special exhibition charting the county’s connections with the popular pastime.

The sound of merry melodeons filled the air on Tuesday as morris fans jigged their way to Oxford University’s Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, in St Aldate’s, for the opening night of a month-long exhibition entitled Oxfordshire Morris, a living tradition.

Its organisers believe it is the perfect time to open an exhibition as interest in traditional English folk music and dancing has seen a resurgence in recent years.

Bate Collection curator Andy Lamb said: “Oxfordshire is very much the heart of English folk dancing and this is an exciting, special exhibition.

“Morris dancing is an indigenous tradition for Oxfordshire and, far from being anachronistic, is a living and vibrant art form.

“This is a great time for an exhibition, as there’s a growing fascination with morris dancing.

“It has been treated with a certain amount of contempt in the past, but there’s a growing interest in folk music and folk dancing by young people and this exhibition is a reflection of that.

“Morris dancing is classically English and people are allowing themselves to be English again.”

The exhibition boasts more than 60 items of paraphernalia supplied by local morris men, including clothes, instruments and photos.

The highlights include a striped, painted fiddle in the colours of the Botley morris side Cry Havoc, a buzzard mask and a map showing defunct and current sides in the county.

There is also a 1950s fool’s costume, worn by Towersey morris dancing devotee Dennis Manners MBE, who died in December last year, and a photo of the Grove dance troupe Phosphorous, who perform with flaming torches and flaming handkerchiefs.

The exhibition has been timed to coincide with the Oxford Folk Festival and on Sunday, March 22 there will be music workshops open to the public inside the building and morris dancers outside.

Exhibition organiser Alice Little said: “The entire exhibition is intended to show that while Oxfordshire hosts some of the oldest morris sides in the country, there’s a host of new sides being formed and new styles, dances and music being developed by local people.”

The exhibition is open between 2pm and 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm on Saturdays. Entry is free of charge.

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk