Evergreen

2017 EVERGREEN 71
joined by accident. He was attending
a fete in Stone, a Staffordshire village,
with a friend of his who happened to
be one of the Deermen, when they
discovered the Jester hadn’t turned
up. Terry was suddenly co-opted in
and has been participating ever since,
for the last 38 years.
Smaller families, more daughters
than sons in the Fowell family has
led to to a wider recruitment from
the local community. Terry’s two
sons have become part of it. “Then
there’s Jeff Bradbury whose lad and
grandson is in it,” Terry tells me.
Access has widened and nowadays
girls can join, provided they’re related
to the Fowell family. “Our main
concern is to ensure the dance keeps
going and there are enough young
people coming in to take the place of
the older ones.” This doesn’t seem
to be a problem, as there’s a growing
waiting list of those wanting to join.
Terry is always staggered by the
response to the event, which has
grown over the year from a few
hundred visitors to upwards of 2,000.
Last year there were visitors from
the USA, Canada and Australia.
One couple Terry spoke to, had even
factored the Abbots Bromley Horn
Dance into their six-week schedule
before they left Australia. “I’m always
amazed by the number of people
who come to see us now.” Amongst
them are a growing number of
enthusiasts who want to observe old
traditions and who have made it part
of their booking list.
For Terry, belonging still means
being a part of the oldest traditional
dance group in the country. “I’m not
as fit as I used to be,” he tells me. “I
don’t dance as much as the others.
It’s more about ensuring these days
that the visitors are entertained
and letting people know what’s
happening.” The group does get
invited out to dance at other venues,
but they try not to do too many
as they want to preserve tradition
and avoid the obvious taint of
commercialisation.
JOHN GREEVES
The dancers at Blithfield
Reservoir. GEORGINA HINE
Further information:
www.facebook.com/AbbotsBromley
HornDance/?fref=ts
www.abbotsbromley.com
www.georginahinephotography.
co.uk/group