Ewell St. Mary's Morris Men

ESMMM + Moke, Ashtead Village Day, 14^th June 2008.

The History

It all started purely by chance in 1979 when the (then) Vicar of Ewell (Peter Hogben) prevailed upon his Young Wives Group to volunteer their husbands for a “mock-morris” event for the village fete.

The wives thought it would all be a bit of a laugh and issued the necessary instructions for their men to report down to the Scout Hut at West Street – not realising they were saying goodbye to 25 years + of redecoration and a farewell forever to odd-jobs & weekend shopping in season!!

The truth was that the lads got bitten by the bug and soon decided to form a ‘proper,’ Morris side – with the help of the nearest Morris side, Thames Valley. They eventually “qualified” by dancing into The Morris Ring (The international association of Morris Men) at Harthill, Notts in 1986.

Practice nights are Thursdays at the Scout Hut ‘out of season,’ and apart from dancing out at the many excellent Surrey pubs which the lads regard as a home from home - they also do various tours, most in the UK but at least one a year on The Continent where they have had tomatoes thrown at them at a Boulogne Market place - have terrorised the burgers of Bruges with a cycle tour, and impeded a Cycle race in West Flanders!