Bells, sticks and hankies in Hertfordshire since 1972.
The festival season is over, the hankies are folded away and the evenings are dark by half four — which makes it the perfect moment to look inside a Morris side's workshop months. Here's what St Albans Morris Men get up to between the last autumn dance and the Boxing Day bells.
Morris dancing can look like a wonderfully chaotic business — bells, sticks, hankies and a fiddle all going at once. Behind the noise, though, a side has a few traditional jobs that keep everything moving. Here is a plain-English guide to the squire, bagman, foreman, musician and fool, and how a Hertfordshire side like St Albans Morris Men actually gets things done.
A British forecast can turn a carefully planned dance-out into a pub gathering in minutes. This is how the side weighs up wet steps, soggy hankies and safety, how you can check for changes, and why calling off a stand is part of keeping the tradition going.
Every dance-out ends with a rattle of coins and a quiet question: where does it all go? Here is how St Albans Morris Men choose charity partners, cover the real costs of keeping a side on the road, and why your spare change is only one way to help.
From the postcard-perfect green beside St Albans Cathedral to supermarket car parks and commuter station forecourts, the side has never been fussy about a stage. Here is a lively tour of the places where the bells have rung — and what those spots say about a changing city.
Thinking of asking St Albans Morris Men — or another local side — to dance at your wedding, village fete or festival? This no-nonsense guide covers the questions to ask, the space you need, the timing that works and the small details that turn a good booking into a great one.
There is no audition, no secret handshake and no need to own a single bell. We joined a Tuesday practice in autumn 2026 to see what really happens when a complete beginner walks into a St Albans Morris Men session.
Before the bells start and the sticks clash, the tune is already doing the heavy lifting. We look at the musicians behind St Albans Morris Men — the instruments they play, the calls they follow and why a good tune is as essential as a good step.
Morris dancing gets filed away as a nostalgic curiosity far too often — a bit of olde England wheeled out for the summer fete. It isn't. Fifty-four years of St Albans Morris Men, and a national scene full of new dancers and new tunes, say otherwise.
When a Morris side hosts an ale, the whole town gets a weekend of dancing, music, food and a fair amount of singing. Here's how the tradition works, what happens across the two days, and how a first-timer should approach it.
Every 26 December the city turns out in force to watch us dance. Then we disappear for eleven months. A case for making Morris a normal, everyday sight on St Albans' streets in 2026 — for the shops, for the dancers, and for everyone who secretly fancies a go.
Ever stopped at a Morris stand and quietly wondered what you're actually looking at? A tour of the bells, sticks, hankies and badges that make up a dancer's kit — and what St Albans Morris Men's own regalia says about more than fifty years of dancing in Hertfordshire.
Thinking of braving the cold to see the side dance out this Boxing Day? Here’s a relaxed, practical guide to what happens, where to look around St Albans and Hertfordshire, what to wear, and how to be a good pub spectator when the bells start ringing.
From a founding in 1972 to a busy 2026 calendar, St Albans Morris Men have spent more than half a century turning up, dancing out and adapting. Here’s what 54 years of bells, sticks and hankies can teach other folk groups about tradition, recruitment and staying visible.