• 30 January 2023
  • Art
    Art
    An Abbots Bromley Horn Dancer clutches the antlers of an old reindeer skeleton. He is wearing his traditional dancing costume. The photo is by Henry Bourne and was taken in 2009.

    Making Mischief: Folk Costume in Britain – an exhibition

    Alex Merry's painting of Boss Morris dancing under the Cold Moon during winter. “Boss Morris are a’leaping on Haresfield Beacon under a full December ‘Cold’ moon. The beasts play by firelight, as the dancers wave their hankies to beckon in the festive season.”

    The Tradfolk guide to Christmas gifts for folkies

    Rhia Davenport of Weven, Stroud, stands in front of a white wall wearing a corn crown and a folkie white dress.

    Weven, Stroud: keeping traditional folk crafts alive

  • Customs
    Customs

    Discover traditional folk customs, rituals and traditions on the Tradfolk.co website. From wassailing to Yule, and the arc of the year in-between.

    A painting of the ritual portrayed in the Eve of St Agnes, by John Keats. The painting is of two young women in their bed chamber, observing a wraith-like character slumped on their bed. The painting is held at the Tate.

    Customs uncovered: St Agnes Eve, dumb cakes, and the prediction of the future

    The Whittlesea Straw Bear dances through the streets, followed by a bear keeper, several onlookers, and two smaller bears.

    An interview with the Whittlesea Straw Bear

    A painting of Old Father Christmas by William Ewart Lockhart, showing an old man with a long white beard, a white smock, a holly crown on his head, and a glass of wine in his hand. He is smiling and gesturing towards a feast on the table in front of him.

    Twelfth Night, Old Christmas and St Stephen’s Day… revisited

  • Music
  • Performance
    Performance
    John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

    Huginn and Munnin dance two-man Border Morris at an event. They are wearing tatter jackets and plague doctor masks.

    Huginn and Muninn: The Norse mythology-inspired Border dancers taking Morris to metalheads

    Tom Williams and Daniel Burston from Beltane Border Morris stand face to face, yelling as they dance. One of them has his tongue sticking out. They are both wearing top hats with pheasant feathers, as well as tatter coats.

    Tradfolk readers’ favourite Morris dance performance of 2022

  • Events
  • Podcasts
    Podcasts
    John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

    Jon Wilks plays guitar at Dorking Folk Club, 2018

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep7 – ‘The Gloucestershire Wassail / The Wassailing Song’, ft. Jon Wilks

    Burd Ellen, Debbie Armour and Gail Brogen, with flowers in their mouths. The image is black and white.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep6 – ‘When I was on Horseback/ The Unfortunate Rake’, ft. Debbie Armour (Burd Ellen)

    • Podcasts
    • Our folk music playlists
  • Shop
  • Tradfolk 101
    Tradfolk 101

    Handbags and Broomsticks: Molly Dancing for the uninitiated

    A woggle hopping obstacle in the wild. The picture is actually of a red postbox in Wiltshire on a pretty summer's day, but woggle hopping often involved postboxes

    Customs uncovered: Woggle Hopping

    The source singer Cecilia Costello - photo by Bob Etheridge

    Women in folk: celebrating the source singers

  • About
    • About Tradfolk.co
    • Advertising with Tradfolk
    • Support
  • Trending
    Trending
    NowWeekMonth
    John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

    The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

    Two people stand by a fire against a darkening sky. The air is alight with sparks and they are wassailing an apple tree spruce.

    The Tradfolk Wassail Directory, 2022-23

    The Best British Folk Songs as chosen by some of the country's favourite folk singers

    The Best British folk songs, as chosen by British folk singers

    The Old Songs Podcast main logo and image featuring an old man singing unaccompanied in a pub.

    The Old Songs Podcast – A full list of episodes

    Fay Hield stares into the camera. She is holding the neck of a five-string banjo.

    Fay Hield on Access Folk and the Folk Singing Symposium

Latest
  • Latest
  • Oldest
  • Random
  • A to Z

Tradfolk 101

Morris DancingTradfolk 101

Handbags and Broomsticks: Molly Dancing for the uninitiated

Everything you ever wanted to know about Molly dancing: the hows, the whys, the history, and the dating hazards...
Read More
The source singer Cecilia Costello - photo by Bob Etheridge
Tradfolk 101

Women in folk: celebrating the source singers

To celebrate International Women's Day, we look into the lives of five of England's most important source singers.
Read More
A black and white photo of the folk song collector, Cecil Sharp, setting off to collect traditional folk songs on his trusty bicycle.
Tradfolk 101

Who was Cecil Sharp and why does everyone want to go to his house?

Cecil Sharp is often described as the father of English traditional folk song collecting. This article is a newbies' guide to his life, his work, and is namesake house in Camden.
Read More
The gate post sign at Cecil Sharp House, where the Roud Number Index is archived
Tradfolk 101

What is a Roud Number?

What is a Roud Number? How did the Roud Index come about? Where can I search Roud Numbers and the Roud Index? All answers can be found here.
Read More
What is folk music?
Tradfolk 101

What is folk music?

As we've interviewed traditional folk musicians over the years, we've often asked THAT folk music question. Here are a few answers to get you thinking...
Read More
A woggle hopping obstacle in the wild. The picture is actually of a red postbox in Wiltshire on a pretty summer's day, but woggle hopping often involved postboxes
Tradfolk 101

Customs uncovered: Woggle Hopping

Can woggle hopping be classed as a British custom? Probably not, but it still deserves a mention as an eccentric activity that briefly caught the public imagination.
Read More
A cutout from the cover of The Voice of the People by Topic Records, in black and white.
ReviewsTradfolk 101

What is The Voice of the People?

Piers Cawley delves into the epic Topic Records' collection, The Voice of the People, where you'll delight in the "crackle, hiss, wow and flutter" of these glorious old recordings.
Read More
Tradfolk 101

Singing without accompaniment

Piers Cawley is known for unaccompanied singing, especially on his Youtube channel, where he sings most Friday evenings at 8pm. In this article, he imparts all the knowledge he's come by over the years, and gets one or two folkie friends to share their secrets, too.
Read More
A maypole against a blue sky, used as the logo for the Tradfolk.co website
Tradfolk 101

Welcome to Tradfolk.co – a note from the editor

Welcome to our new website, set up to celebrate traditional folk culture in a modern world. Editor, Jon Wilks, explains what you'll find here.
Read More

Popular Articles

John Spiers, or Squeezy as he is known, playing the melodeon in a black and white photograph advertising his appearance on the Old Songs Podcast discussing The Princess Royal.

The Old Songs Podcast: Se2Ep8 – ‘Princess Royal’, ft. John Spiers

Two people stand by a fire against a darkening sky. The air is alight with sparks and they are wassailing an apple tree spruce.

The Tradfolk Wassail Directory, 2022-23

The Best British Folk Songs as chosen by some of the country's favourite folk singers

The Best British folk songs, as chosen by British folk singers

The Old Songs Podcast main logo and image featuring an old man singing unaccompanied in a pub.

The Old Songs Podcast – A full list of episodes

Fay Hield stares into the camera. She is holding the neck of a five-string banjo.

Fay Hield on Access Folk and the Folk Singing Symposium

Halsway Manor National Centre for Folk Arts banner ad

Upcoming folk events

Feb 2
7:30 pm GMT

Gerry Colvin At Rosslyn Court

Rosslyn Court
Feb 2
7:30 pm GMT

Ciderhouse Rebellion & The Tears of Jenny Greenteeth At Cecil Sharp House

Cecil Sharp House
Feb 2
8:00 pm GMT

Frankie Archer At Cobalt Studios, Newcastle

Cobalt Studios
Feb 4
8:30 pm GMT

Fern Maddie At The Stables, Milton Keynes

The Stables
Feb 4
8:30 pm GMT

Julian Gaskell & His Ragged Trousered Philanthropists At Green Note, Camden

Green Note
Feb 5
1:00 pm GMT

Julian Gaskell & His Ragged Trousered Philanthropists At The Bell, Bath

The Bell Inn, Bath
View Calendar

Subscribe

* indicates required




About Trad.

Exploring folk culture, folk music, folk arts, rituals and events, and how these living traditions continue today.

Artists and subjects written about regularly on Tradfolk

  • Martin Carthy

Search

Proud to be media partners with…

Tradfolk sections

  • About
  • Events
  • Folk art 
  • Customs
  • Folk music
  • Performance
  • Folk podcasts
  • Shop
  • Support us
  • Tradfolk 101
  • Folk music playlists
  • Advertise with Tradfolk
© Tradfolk.co. All Rights Reserved.
  • About Tradfolk.co
  • Support Tradfolk.co
  • Contact
  • Cookie Policy
  • Art
  • Customs
  • Music
  • Performance
  • Events
  • Podcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Our folk music playlists
  • Shop
  • Tradfolk 101
  • About
    • About Tradfolk.co
    • Advertising with Tradfolk
    • Support
Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close
Talaton Feniton Morris Dancing Eliza Carthy Shovel Dance Collective
See all results
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo