Dancing as separate sides but with very close links and certainly sharing musicians The Ironmen and Severn Gilders are regulars at the festival, in fact they're locals, coming from around the Ironbridge area.
Originally formed in 1976, they have danced at other major festivals all over the country (with The Severn Gilders being former winners of the Ritual Dance Competition at the Sidmouth Folk Festival) and have also visited Ireland, Spain, Germany, Belgium and France.
The Ironmen
dance the Border Morris tradition which originated in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Over 350 years ago - In 1652 - a local account described the "Broseley Morrice Daunce with sword bearers and a rude company of followers" (Broseley being a small town near to Ironbridge). In 1885 the Broseley dancers appeared "in fantastic dresses with plenty of coloured paper and black faces". The coloured paper (which young boys used to delight in setting fire to) has these days been replaced by cloth tatters which decorate the waistcoats, and they also wear the clogs and bowler hats which would once have been worn by the quarrymen, miners and artisans of the district. Few if any specific details of actual Border Morris dances from the past survive, so the dances are their own interpretations of the border tradition
The Severn Gilders
take their name from the decorators of fine china at the old Coalport china works on the banks of the River Severn close to Ironbridge, and the dance in the North West style which came originally from the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire in the North West of England.
Like the Ironmen, they wear the distinctive colours of red and black which symbolise the coal and fire of the Industrial Revolution which had its roots in the Ironbridge area. They also add touches of gold as a reminder of their link with the Coalport china gilders. The North-West Morris tradition is rich with recorded dances - most named after the towns in which they originated - and they dance many of these, including Wigan, Runcorn, Cheadle and Ashton. In addition to the traditional dances, they have also devised their own in the North-West style, and these are named after Coalport china patterns. e.g. Mandalay, Paradise, Green Dragon.
IMSG are also noted for their excellent band, which includes some very experienced and well known musicians.
www.ironmenandseverngilders.org
