The Saddleworth women taking their place at Rushcart

Saddleworth Rushcart is always a big date in the diary for tradition-hunters and locals alike, but this year it promises to look a little different, with a brand new local women’s team joining the festivities. 

In early February I received what can only be described as a barrage of enquiries about new morris clogs. Initially this seemed like coincidence, but one of the messages mentioned ‘the new Saddleworth Women’s morris group’. I was intrigued – and even more so when the ladies started turning up for their fittings with tales of their new side: its prodigious size; the lack of dance experience of its members; its ambitious targets for dancing at major events. Above all, the talk was of performing at this year’s Saddleworth Rushcart, an annual event which was revived in 1975 by Saddleworth Morris Men just a year after their formation in 1974.

Surely the Saddleworth story shows us the potential of morris at its finest. The men’s team that brought back a cherished tradition… and recruited dancers from all walks of life.

Rushcart ceremonies

‘The Rushcart was an elaborate way to take rushes to the parish Church of St. Chad’s in Uppermill where they were used to cover the earthen floor’, explains Ed. There were other ways of transporting rushes to churches throughout England, but carts were common in the South Pennines.

‘Many of the villages and hamlets that made up the parish of Saddleworth would have pulled their own carts up to the church. Competition was inevitable, and morris was a part of that.’

When the church floor was flagged in the 1820s, obviating the need for rushes, the tradition morphed into a purely social event which persisted for around a century until a brief hiatus (of half a century!) before the revival of the 1970s. Today, Rushcart is once again a ‘red-letter day’ in the community – and it’s this umbilical connection to the area that seems to account for the rapid rise of the women’s team.

Saddleworth Women’s Morris & Clog: the origin story

‘I think a large part of our success is due to so many women growing up in Saddleworth watching the men’s side perform year after year but never having the opportunity to join a local women’s northwest morris side,’ reflects Lucy.

Ed agrees. ‘Rushcart attracts a lot of support from people who are not involved in morris or folk at all, and most of the recruits to Saddleworth Morris Men typically have no prior background or involvement in either scene. Saddleworth has a strong identity as a place – and Rushcart is, after all, a local tradition.’

The move towards opening up the hitherto men-only dancing at Rushcart came just before Covid, but it was 2022 when Chinewrde Morris became the first women’s team to perform there. There was still sadness about an earlier women’s side, Saddleworth Clog and Garland, having folded; and the presence of female dancers at Rushcart seemed to act as a catalyst for the establishment of a new team.

Even with all that local support and goodwill, the nascent women’s side has still produced some remarkable feats. From a post on a local Facebook group in October 2023 asking if anyone would support or start a women’s side, to a discussion between Lucy and Ed (in the pub, naturally), to an open evening on 13^th December 2023, things moved quickly.

Once regular practices started in January of this year, the pace quickened further. ‘Our first dance out was Saturday 27th April in Uppermill, just 15 weeks and 3 days after our first practice!’ beams Lucy.

But an even more prestigious event was on the horizon, as Ed explains: ‘Pretty much as soon as we got going in January, we had an invite to dance at Holmfirth Folk Festival in May. That became the target! We had to teach 20+ people how to dance Northwest Morris, mostly from scratch, in that time.’

And there it is again, a casual reference to the novice status of the dancers. ‘Out of our 23 dancers, only six including myself have ever danced morris or clog step,’ confirms Lucy.

Rushcart: a particular power to inspire

Surely the Saddleworth story shows us the potential of morris at its finest. The men’s team that brought back a cherished tradition, tapped into the local area’s sense of community pride, and recruited dancers from all walks of life. In return, every year they give back a joyful social event that is the highlight of the local calendar. And Rushcart seems to have a particular power to inspire.

‘You can’t help but be in awe of the Rushcart and its jockey being pulled nine miles through the beautiful villages of Saddleworth,’ says Lucy.

For Ed, his first encounter with the Rushcart was life-changing. ‘I danced with a Cotswold side in my home town of Doncaster, Green Oak Morris Men [who coincidentally also celebrated their 50th anniversary this year], and came over to Rushcart with them for the first time in 1996. It was my first morris weekend trip and it blew me away. I’ve been to every Rushcart since.

‘I have had many other incredible experiences in morris at home and abroad, but Rushcart is like nothing else. Being Rushcart jockey [directing the procession from a vantage point on top of the piled rushes] in 2011 will always be the biggest thing in my morris life.’

And, new though the women’s side may be, it already seems to have cast its spell over recruits whose lives have been taken over, ‘in the best possible way!’, Lucy assures me. ‘We have a wonderful new dancer, Anuaska Heffernan, who has a great love for the morris and has been with us since the start.’ 

A former stalwart of the rave scene, Anuaska eventually swapped her glow sticks for bobbins after having followed the men’s team for years.

This has brought reciprocal benefits for the men’s side, too. ‘Her husband had always wanted to join the men’s side but didn’t quite make it to practice until Anuaska joined us. He will be dancing for his waistcoat at this year’s Rushcart!’

Kit chat

This wasn’t the first time I’d heard reference to ‘dancing for the waistcoat’, so I asked Ed to elaborate on this initiation ceremony.

‘Saddleworth are known for their stripy waistcoats. When someone dances for the first time in kit, they dance without their waistcoat and, if they get the dance right, are awarded the waistcoat to wear as part of their kit from that point on.’

‘The women’s side don’t have to dance for their kit,’ adds Lucy. ‘I watch each dancer through practice and we make a joint decision when the dancer and I both feel they are ready.’

There have, however, been discussions about badges which could be awarded in a similar way when someone dances out in kit for the first time. This, surely, would include the team’s distinctive logo, designed by team member Laura Kemp-Smyth.

We have created a wonderful side which is more like a huge family and ultimately it’s dedication like this that will keep our folk traditions alive

Laura herself explains that, after discounting local landmarks that were difficult to turn into designs, she looked to the surrounding moors for inspiration. ‘I thought of the moorland hares, inspired by local dialect poet Ammon Wrigley’s ‘The Brown Hare of Whitebrook’.

Although a simple outline, within the hare we find a Tudor rose, ‘a nod to Saddleworth Morris Men and also acknowledgment of the location’s border status’.

By a stroke of good fortune (for me), this design is also great for decorating clogs, and several of my new customers have asked for the hare somewhere on their footwear. There’s clearly a great sense of team pride and cohesion, which Lucy is keen to talk about.

‘Everything that is asked of the women they face head on and constantly give their best efforts with a smile and usually lots of laughter. We have created a wonderful side which is more like a huge family and ultimately it’s dedication like this that will keep our folk traditions alive.’

Rushcart 2024

Indeed, even the future of the Rushcart tradition is not certain, beleaguered by rising running costs, a situation which required a fundraising drive this year. But, as Ed says, ‘Get in touch with Saddleworth Morris Men if you want to come along as a side or reps: a big, successful event is key to its long term success.’

And this one promises to be big – big on emotions, and big on the number of dancers. ‘To see nearly 50 Saddleworth dancers from the men’s and women’s sides out in kit at Rushcart will be an amazing sight,’ Ed concludes.

Lucy sums up what Rushcart means to her and the team.

‘For me personally, dancing at Rushcart will be an incredibly emotional and proud experience. My partner Graham Wood has danced with Saddleworth Morris Men since he was 12 and I know how much Rushcart means to him. He has been one of our biggest supporters and a huge help on this wild journey.

‘My first Rushcart was not until 2018, but from that moment I was hooked and wanted to be a part of it. I know a lot of the women have grown up attending Rushcart or followed it avidly in their adult life so to be invited as a performing side in our first year as a team is huge in more ways than one. I’m sure there will be many emotions felt throughout the weekend and certain that they will all be positive. 

‘I’m so excited to see what the future holds for Saddleworth Women’s Morris & Clog. Bigger and better things are yet to come.’

---

Saddleworth Rushcart takes place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August (Bank Holiday Weekend) around Saddleworth. Performing will be:

• Saddleworth Morris Men
• Saddleworth Women’s Morris and Clog
• Anker Morris Men
• Belles of London City
• Colchester Morris
• Customs & Exiles
• Devils Dyke Morris Men
• East Suffolk Morris Men
• First Class Stamp
• Horwich Prize Medal Morris
• Kennet Morris
• Malkin Morris
• Monkseaton Morris Dancers
• Mossley Morris Men
• Rutland Morris
• Thaxted Morris Men
• White Hart Morris Men
• Winchester Morris Men

For more information, visit the event Facebook Group.

---

Like this article? Please consider donating to help keep Tradfolk running.