Cecil Sharp and the Morris Men

26 December 1899: Number 1 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of world and folk musicCecil James Sharp, a 40-year-old music teacher from London, was gazing out across the snow-covered drive at his mother-in-law's cottage in Headington, Oxfordshire when he saw a bizarre sight. Eight men dressed all in white, their shirts decorated with ribbons and bells strapped to their shins, were lining up in front of the house. A concertina player struck up a tune and the men leapt into the a...

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