MORRIS DANCING AT 
LYMM MAY QUEEN FESTIVALS.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday May 22nd 1948.
Lymm's first proper May Day celebration after the 2nd World War.

The Guardian reports that there were morris dance and open dance competitions and that out of 18 troupes competing, the 7 prizes were shared by troupes from Manchester and Chester. In the Morris Dancing competition, judged by Mr. Cadmand of Manchester and Harry & Maurice Boyle of Warrington, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes went to the "Ormonde Troupe", the "Redstreams" and the "Lyndons" or the "Goldstreams" (conflicting newspaper reports!). Local dancing troupes were trained by Mrs Clare Shaw.


Broomedge at the 1948 May Queen

The Lymm May Queen of 1892 performed the crowning ceremony. She was Mrs. Jessie Broadey (nee Clare) aged 69 years. The May Queen was Dorothy Greenhalgh and the Rose Queen Marjorie Jones.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 11th 1949.
Very sparse report in the newspaper - no mention of dancing.
Celebrations again on The Grammar School field.
The May Queen was Gwen Priestner and the Rose Queen June Burrows.

+Lymm May Queen Carnival 1950
Held on Friday June 2nd, Saturday June 3rd and Monday June 5th of the Whit weekend.
Silcock Brothers Gigantic Fun Fair was a great attraction "on the usual ground on the side of the canal."


1950 Embassy Acrobats

Margaret Hankey (a dancer with Embassy Morris and Entertainers) was the Rose Queen and Sylvia May Gardiner was the May Queen.

Open Morris dancing contest (senior):
1st: Deeside Royal. 
2nd: Royal Dinkies. 
3rd: Barnton Senior.
Entertainers Competition:
1st: Grosvenor Acrobatic (Shotton).
2nd: Shotton Juniors.
3rd: Westminster Festival of Britain Team.

+Lymm May Queen Carnival 1951
Held on Whit week-end: Friday, Saturday and Monday, 18th 19th and 21st May.
The May Queen was 15 year-old Rita Mary Clare of 7 Crouchley Lane, and the Rose Queen was 13 year-old Valerie Bate of 2a Oldfield Road, Statham.


1951 Broomedge

Silcocks World Fair was again an attraction, along with 20 troupes of morris dancers, and for the first time since the 1880's there was a rushbearing cart, although this was a tradition normally performed in August.

There is no mention in the Warrington Guardian report which morris dance troupes attended, or whether there was a contest, but visitors from as far afield as Lancaster, Stockport and Liverpool attended the festival.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 7th 1952.
The May Queen was 14 year-old Edna Badger of 2 Jubilee Grove Statham, and the Rose Queen was Gillian Poncia of 24 Adey Road.
Fifteen morris dancing troupes attended and the Open entertaining dance contest was won by Embassy Acrobats of Lymm.


Margaret Hankey, Lymm Embassy with 1952 trophy
Margaret was also 1950 Rose Queen

In the "Local Morris dance section, Broomedge Juniors and Broomedge Blue Streams tied for 1st and 2nd places.
The Morris dance (open) was won by Mold Stars Senior troupe.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday May 30th 1953.
Ted Edwards had sent the queen (Elizabeth II) on the year of her coronation a souvenir programme, and had received a message of thanks in return.
The Rose Queen was Christine Rotheram of Massey Brook Road, and the May Queen was Beryl Wright of Adey Road. There were 17 troupes in competitions, and the Morris dancing results were:

1st: Merry Millers Seniors, 
2nd: Gilfield Seniors, 
3rd: Mold Stars Seniors.

Lymm Embassy Acrobats & Embassy Entertaining won the Entertainers section.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 11th 1954.
Procession leaves from outside the Council Offices at 2pm, and arrives at Grammar School Playing Fields at 3pm.
The Rose Queen was Beryl Poulter (Shirley Higgins was a maid of Honour), and the May Queen was Hilary Edwards in the newspaper text, but Mary Edwards on the newspaper photograph caption


May Queen Hilary Edwards


1954 Pamela Stars

Morris dancing Competition results: 

1st: Pamela Stars.
2nd: 'Latchford Trades Hall' and 'Bandeaux Senior' tied.
3rd: Broomedge.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 4th 1955.
The May Queen was Joan Riley and the Rose Queen was Hilda Burrell.


1955 Embassy Juveniles

Morris dancing results were:

Senior Morris: 
1st: Birkdale.
2nd: Marionette.
3rd: Bandeaux Goostrey.
Junior Morris:
1st: St. Wilfred's.
2nd: Birkdale.
3rd: St. Wilfred's Tinies.
Entertainers:
1st: Richmond.
2nd: a tie between Cheshire and Broomedge.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday May 26th 1956.
The May Queen was Marie Barker of 4 Westheath Grove, and the Rose Queen was Pauline Jackson of 5 Oak Road Statham.
"Jazz" Bands appeared for the first time in the procession, and there were Jazz Band competitions.
As well as Maypole dancing, there were displays on the field by the Women's League of Health and Beauty, Broomedge Acrobatic Dancers and Broomedge Morris Dancers, and a finale to the performances by the Bootle Concertina Band.


May Queen Marie Barker


1956/57 Embassy Dancers

The Morris Dancing competition: 
1st: Woolston Seniors and Springfield (tie),
2nd: Tower No 1 and Royal Oak (tie), 
3rd: Primrose Stars.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 15th 1957.
The May Queen was Hazel Jones crowned by Warrington's popular singing star Barbara Law.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday May 31st 1958.
The May Queen Josephine Smith, and the Rose Queen was Gillian Riley.
Ted Edwards was unable to attend for the first time since he helped to reform the festival in 1947. He was in hospital with leg injuries following a road accident.


1958 Broomedge at Eagle Brow

The Morris dancing competition results: 
1st: Winston Royals of Warrington, 
2nd & 3rd: Tie between Woolston Towers (Ormskirk) and the Royal Oak Troupe.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday May 23rd 1959.
The May Queen was Nora Burnip of 17, Crouchley Lane, Lymm, and the Rose Queen was Ann Buckley. 
"Ye Olde Maypole Dancers" were trained by Mrs. R. Daniels of Statham. 34 dance troupes took part and the competitions lasted well into the evening. The Morris dancing won by Woolston Royals and Lower Withington (First place tie), with Westhoughton Parish Church third. Broomedge Acrobatics won the Rose Bowl and the leader's medal in the Entertainers section, with Ellesmere Ponies second and Revelry third.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 11th 1960.
The May Queen was Francizka Matulko and the Rose Queen was Valerie Brand.
This is the 14th year of the festival since the war, counting from the beginning as late in the year of 1947, but the paper describes this year as the "unlucky 13th year" (since the revival of the event on May 22nd 1948) because of the torrential "drenching" rain on the day. 
In the Morris dancing competition, Lower Withington and Westhoughton tied for first place and The Winston Royals were third. Broomedge Acrobatics and Winston Marionettes tied for first place in the Entertainers section, with Oldham Aces third.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday May 27th 1961.
The May Queen was Jennifer Barnes and the Rose Queen was Marjorie Riley. 
There were many dance troupes in the procession. Broomedge dancers were the first of these and there were four more in the May Queen's followers, a further two troupes after the Rose Queen and her attendants, and more mentioned in the newspaper report as bringing up the rear. 
Competitions for the troupes took place but there is no mention of any troupe by name regarding these, and no mention of winners or runners-up.


1961 Broomedge

"Twenty-two dancers from Partington took part in the maypole dance. The dancers, all pupils of Lymm Secondary Modern School, were "co-opted" at the last moment, after the committee found Lymm children were apathetic towards the dancing."

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday June 16th 1962.
According to the report in the Warrington Guardian Newspaper, this year's May Queen celebrations were "recorded on colour film by the society for future showing."

I have not been able to trace this film or find anyone to corroborate that the filming took place.

The May Queen was Christina Talbot, and the Rose Queen was Margaret Smith. 
Lymm children performed the Maypole dance unlike the previous year, and the Lymm Embassy Dancing Troupe performed Garland and Tambourine Dances and the Sailor's Hornpipe. 
There were 24 Morris dancing and Entertaining Troupes competing, including Broomedge Dancers, Lymm Embassy, Runcorn Royalettes, Farnworth and Kearsley Debenaires, Pendlebury Legionaires, Buckley Belles, Holmes Chapel Seniors and Tinies Troupes, Benchill Junior and Senior Morris Dancers, The John Hawke Entertainers, 3 troupes from Skelmersdale and 2 troupes from Shawheath.
No mention in the report of competition winners.

+Lymm May Queen - Saturday 8th June 1963.
The May Queen was Pauline Whitfield and the Rose Queen was Christine Leigh.
This was the hottest day of the year and the lorry carrying the Rose Queen over-heated, broke down and had to be pushed the final quarter of a mile to the playing fields!
There is no mention of any dancing in the Warrington Guardian Report.

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Text © 2002 Geoff Bibby
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