Welcome to the Isca Morrismen Website - Home of the Traditional Morris Dancers from South Wales performing Welsh Border and Cotswold Morris dances together with local Mumming Plays, Wassailing ceremonies and the Mari Lwyd custom



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Folk Plays
 Historical Background of the Mumming and associated Folk Plays
 The Gwent Mumming Play based on a Chepstow Play published by Ivor Waters of Chepstow in his book Folklore and Dialect of the Lower Wye Valley
 Isca Mummers in Action
 Isca Mummers - The Early Years in Pictures
 Alderley Play
 Mari Lwyd

 Dance Repertoire Part 1
 Dance Repertoire Part 2
 All you ever wanted to know about our Traditional Monmouth Caps
 Our Officers responsible for our traditions over the years
 Each year since we were founded we have collected for various charities

 An Article celebrating our Silver Jubilee Year
 Twenty-One Years On - Reminisces on Life with the Isca Morrismen
 Isca Morrismen - The Beginning of Twenty-Two Years On - A Personal Reflection
 A mere phone call or? - the perenial lament of a bagman - a tale of a television special!
 A Fete Worse Than Death - An Article on the Morris Scene
 Fun with Bells On - Dancing that goes back to before records began was coupled with cans of beer to celebrate the arrival of May Day


Isca Morrismen Tradition Articles
Silver Jubilee

The following article was published in the Morris Ring Newsletter:-

"Silver Jubilee Year - An Article by Les Chittleburgh
celebrating the side's Silver Jubilee"

Isca Morrismen have celebrated their 25th Anniversary this year with a series of major events. The year began with the usual dawn performance from around 5.15 a..m. at the Ampitheatre in Caerleon. For the first time in many years the side were forced by the foot and mouth outbreak to dance outside the ampitheatre, where enlivened by copious supplies of local ales, the dancing continued for over an hour until the sun was well and truly up, upon which the members retired for a well earned breakfast. The May festivities continued with a day of dance to mark the May Bank Holiday and a pleasant tour of the Monmouthshire countryside with Sweyns Ey. Joint evening tours followed with Forest of Dean and Lassington Oak before the side embarked on a week in the Czech Republic at the start of June.

The overseas visit was based upon the town of Pisek, around an hours drive south of Prague. After a twenty four hour coach trip from South Wales, the side were hosted by local residents and much enjoyed traditional hospitality, including the serving of spirits and beers with every meal - breakfast included!  Four days of dancing followed with copious dancing at the Pisek Festival followed by tours of the area. Memorable visits to Orlik and Zvikov included dancing on board a small excursion boat and a visit to a brewery where we had a chance to dance for the children from the local orphanage. Other spots included the historic towns of Cesky Krumlov and Tabor plus a visit to Prague, all in all an excellent overseas excursion and probably the most intensive dancing done all season. The photograph below taken in Palacky park shows some audience participation at the end of Beaux of London City with our musician being revived, before all the side queued for the same treatment.

Palacky Park in Pisek

At the end of June the side welcomed Harthill and Yateley to a joint 25th Anniversary weekend and took over a local pub at Llanfapley. The Cottage Brewery was persuaded to brew a special 5.4% brew called Morris Jubilee Ale which was also supplied to all their other outlets and, together with a range of 4 other ales, the sides were kept well lubricated. On the Saturday a day tour began in bright sunshine on the Bowling Green at Raglan Castle with it's spectacular views over the surrounding area.

Dancing spots at Llanvihangel Tor-y-Mynydd, Trellech Grange, Trellech and Bryngwyn followed before the groups returned in the early evening to Llanfapley for a five course celebration meal including iced cakes with the badges of the three sides. On the Sunday an hour of dancing followed at the Red Hart in Llanfapley to round off a memorable celebration. In the words of the Harthill men: "A superb celebration weekend with good company, good food, good beer, good organisation and excellent weather - a weekend to remember for a long time to come". The photo below shows the Isca men in full flow at Raglan Castle, watched by Harthill.

Raglan Castle

The celebrations continued in early July with the wedding in Hereford of one of the side's musicians, where we were joined by the Kings Men and two local sides, Full Moon (a mixed cotswold side) and Cardiff Ladies. The days tour included several spots in the area around Hereford plus a dancing visit to the Spinning Dog brewery in Hereford.

To round off the anniversary year, the side held it's annual family weekend at the start of September, based on Brynglas House in Newport where we were pleased to welcome 18 other sides, amongst them Adlington, Alford, Broadwood, Dog Rose, Greenwich, John O'Gaunt, Ripley, Sweyn Ey plus other ladies and mixed sides including Belles and Broomsticks (Guernsey), Brisingamen, Fleet Morris, Old Speckled Hen, Paragon Pit, Queens Oak, Royal Oak, Sergeant Musgraves, Treacle Eaters and Winkleigh Morris.

On the Saturday some 230 dancers and musicians started inside the Roman Ampitheatre at Caerleon before embarking on 5 coach tours of Monmouthshire covering a twenty mile radius, ending the day in the various pubs around Mamhilad, on the outskirts of Pontypool. The coaches then disgorged the performers into the local swimming pool before returning to Brynglas House for a celebration Cocktail Party provided by Winkleigh Morris followed by Old Time Music Hall and a Ceilidh with the Bedlam band. On the Sunday the centre of Magor village was closed off for all the groups to perform before sad farewells rounded off our biggest weekend in some years. After all this year's activities, the side is now looking forward to a quieter period in the run up to Christmas when we enter our Mumming and Mari Lwyd seasons.

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