Slubbing Billys, and North West Morris

Our badge shows a pair of cropping shears and a hammer, both famous symbols of West Yorkshire's Colne Valley where we are based. The cropping shears were used by the Croppers, skilled tradesmen, to trim the knap of newly woven cloth. They were made redundant in the early 19th century by the invention of the Cropping Frame which mechanised the process. The frames were made by Enoch Taylor of Marsden, a blacksmith who also made hammers. The 'Luddites' used Enoch's hammers to smash the frames, calling 'Enoch made them, and Enoch shall break them!'

Who are we?

Slubbing Billys are a mixed North West Morris Team, with a reputation for colourful costumes (we call it ‘kit’) and lively, entertaining dances. The team was formed in 1986, and has a healthy age range, from enthusiatic teenagers to more experienced (‘mature’) members who have danced with the side since it started. Ours is a mixed side, which means we have both men and women dancers and musicians.

Most of the members live in and around the Colne and Holme Valleys near Huddersfield. We all have different backgrounds, but share a love of tradition, good company and the occasional pint of decent beer. We practice at Slaithwaite Community Centre most Tuesday evenings, although in summer you’ll find us out and about dancing at various local pubs instead.  Our ‘local’ is The Sair at Linthwaite, and we usually replace bodily fluids there after practice nights.

The men's kit of waistcoat, white collarless shirts, black cord breeches, red knee socks and red and gold sashes is similar to that worn by dancers in Lancashire around 100 years ago. It incorporates locally woven woollen cloth in a distinctive purple, and we wear bowler hats which were ‘sunday best’ wear for ordinary men around that time. Of course, we all wear clogs, shod with 'irons', the traditional footwear of the cotton mill workers. The ladies kit is a practical interpretation of the woollen smock dress favoured by weavers for its simple style. Originally, a shawl would have been worn over the top, but the fancy white blouses worn underneath look far better!


North West Morris originated (as the name suggests) in the North West of England, and was danced by mill workers on their high days and holidays, mainly for fun, although it is also traditional to collect money. No doubt this supplemented their wages, helping them to break the drudgery of their poorly paid mill life. It may have its origins in the rural dance tradition, in that the dances are in sets, and are composed of a number of figures, similar in this respect to the older ‘Cotswold’ style. Each town had its own dance, and most are still called after the place where they originated.