The Shakespeare Morris Men were founded in 1959 and are
"The Keepers of the
Bidford-on-Avon Tradiation".
The Shakespeare Morris Men have been members of
The Morris Ring of England since 1965
and of The English Folk Dance and Song Society from 1959.
Local Roots
The Shakespeare Morris Men have the privelledge of wearing the family Coat of Arms of the house of John Shakespeare,
William Shakespeare's father, by kind permission of the Shakespeare Trust. The gold & black shield familar to visitors
to Stratford which shows a shake spear or in historic terms, a left leaning spear.
The founder members of the the group in 1959 were scholars of
King Edward VI Grammar School, where shakespeare was educated, some of whom are still active club members.
Bidford-on-Avon
The Shakespeare Morris Men have a special connection with the nearby village of Bidford-on-Avon, whose morris tradition has been
extensively researched since 1965 by Phillip Taylor, SMM's long suffering musician for many years, assisted by Tony Parsons, the great
grandson of Edwin Salisbury, the foreman of the 1886 Shakespearean Bidford Morris Dancers.
Tony first danced in 1965 with the Bidford Boys and his son Geoffrey has also been dancing with
Shakespeare since he was old
enough to walk!
The Shakespeare Morris Men first danced the Bidford Tradition at The EFDSS Albert Hall
Festival in 1974.
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