The Buckland Shag Morris Men

A dancing tradition since 1987

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The Buckland Shag Morris Men strive to preserve an ancient tradition; we go to the pub every Friday night and have a very entertaining time. Sometimes we dance as well.

The Buckland Shag was a monstrous horse which lived in the Shag Brook at Buckland near Reigate Heath (some writers would have it as a gorilla, but our logo is a horse, so a horse it is!). This beast would drag travellers from the nearby coaching road and devour them on the Shag Stone. The Shag Stone was a large boulder in the brook with a blood red vein of iron ore running through it.

The local parson, Willoughby Bertie, had the Shag Stone removed from the brook in 1757 and it was transported and thrown from a cliff in Devon. The Buckland Shag then disappeared from local folklore.

But then at dawn on Mayday 1987, something appeared from the region of Buckland Pond. Sightings were reported around Surrey every Friday evening through the summer, but only at selected licensed premises serving quality ales....

For the past two decades this pattern of sightings has continued.

The Buckland Shag dance Cotswold Morris, which has many forms or "traditions" named after the villages in and around Oxfordshire where the dances originated. At the turn of the century morris dancing was dying out and many dances would have disappeared altogether had it not been for the work of Cecil Sharp and others who preserved the music and dances for posterity.

The Buckland Shag practice on Friday evenings from 8-10 pm at Leigh Village Hall during the winter, and can usually be found in the Three Horseshoes afterwards.

All are welcome to attend; new or experienced dancers and musicians are always needed.

Furthur information is available from David at 01293 782777, or Jim at 01883 715628.