The Forest of Dean has a long history of morris and other dance tunes. Cecil Sharp collected tunes in the Forest of Dean from Henry Allen from Ruardean in 1909 and Charles Baldwin from Newent in 1910. Russell Wortley collected tunes from Beatrice Hill, nee Bishop, in Bromsberrow Heath in 1956/7. Peter Kennedy and Russell Wortley also recorded tunes from Stephen Baldwin.

Henry Allen was originally from Ruardean and played for the Morris side there until 1871 when a meeting between rival sides on Plump Hill produced a fight and a fatality. When Sharp met him, he was living at Mere Street in Stratford-on-Avon and playing fiddle on the boats there. When Sharp later was collecting morris in the Forest of Dean, he asked people if they knew him. However, he got the name wrong, asking for “Anstis”, so of course people said they’d never heard of him.

Cecil Sharp also noted tunes from Charles Baldwin, known as “Charlie”, in 1910 when he was in Newent workhouse. However, Sharp got the name wrong, so Charles is called “George” in Sharp’s manuscripts.

Charles Baldwin was born in 1827 at Gorsley Common on the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border. This was a wild and untamed place; the vicar who took the details of his birth took nearly 2 years to pass them to the vicar of Newent! Gorsley was a known stopping place for travellers, notably the Locke family from whom Sharp collected many fine tunes. One of these may have been the “Fiddler Lock”, also from Gorsley, with whom Charles was known to have played. He was at one time a charcoal burner in Newent woods and played for Cliffords Mesne morris. He died at Newent Almshouses in 1910.

See also separate entries for Beatrice Hill and Stephen Baldwin.

Forest of Dean Morris and Tunes, Index

Calling On (Ruardean Morris) was always the opening air “to call ’em together”. Henry Allen also called it a march. The morris dancers numbered 6 or 8 – he could not remember. They were accompanied by a fool or “merriman” a flag bearer and a sword bearer. The flag bearer “cut the flag” which bore the letters RW-possibly to denote the village of Ruardean Woodside.

Dorsetshire March was the processional march of the Cliffords Mesne Morris Dancers for whom Baldwin used to play

Charles Baldwin’s Gloucester Hornpipe is a version of “Nelson’s Hornpipe”. (See Greet and Chris Beaumont’s manuscripts.)

Morris Call was played to call morris men together. The call proper is the first 12 bars. The succeeding dance lilt was “just to excite ’em”.

Polly Put the Kettle on was a country dance, the chief figure of which was “Diament” i.e. “swing corners”. Sharp was unsure as to whether the B and C parts were in the correct order

Ruardean Sword Dance “Dance of the man who accompanied the morris dancers at Ruardean for whom Allen played until about 1871-2. He held the swords in his hands and manipulated them as he danced. It was very difficult. He did not place swords on the ground and dance over them.” See also Wild Morris which like this tune, is a version of When The King Enjoys His Own Again.

The Wild Morris “Always played ’em off the green to this tune. They went off in the same order as they came on in the march only quicker and dancing instead of marching.” See also Ruardean Sword Dance.

Cliffords Mesne Morris (Notes from CJ Sharp; See http://www.vwml.org.uk/record/CJS2/11/1/188)
George Baldwin, charcoal burner , 88 now living at Newent in the Alms Houses used to be fiddler of the Clifford Mesne Morris. Forty years ago since it lapsed. Tho’ Philpotts was fool, [Baddenham] John Aplin [were] dancers – all now dead.
As at May Hill they [processed] from place to place in column formation, top left being flagman and top right swordsman. The former had a large flag peculiar to village wh'[ich] he waved in time with the music, and the latter [two] swords which he whirled around his head with the lilt of the music. He also danced the sword dance (swords on the ground) to the tune of Greensleeves.
Baldwin used to play at all the wakes and gave me some interesting tunes. He played me Pop goes the weasel and described figures [which] were same as usual. He said he had known the tune ever since he was a boy and that it wasn’t a new one then. He was quite positive on this point.