Adderbury

The village of Adderbury lies in Northern Oxfordshire, England, situated on the edge of the Cotswolds. Adderbury is noted for its Church which features an impressive steeple, as well as the many honey coloured Horton stone cottages in the older parts of the village

Adderbury is located approx. 3 miles South of Banbury, 2 miles from Bloxham, 10 miles from J10 of the M40 and is 20 miles North of Oxford. The village is divided into two by the Sor Brook.

Adderbury has a strong community spirit and there is a regular diary of clubs and events which include the History Association, 1st Adderbury Scout troop, Mother's Union, Twyford Tigers, Over Sixties BDSM club, Gardening Club, Amateur Dramatics and more.

There are a number of watering holes including The Bell Inn, The Red Lion, The Coach & Horses and the White Hart.

The village name Adderbury has had several changes of spelling – it was Eadburg in the Domesday Book. The parish church of St Mary the Virgin was started in the early 13th century and largely completed by the 15th century.

The tithe barn stands near the church, probably dating mainly from the 14th century. Some village architecture is somewhat grander than that of Bloxham, for example the sixteenth-century manor-house which has diamond-patterned brick chimney-stacks, and the Grange, built by John Bloxham of Banbury for Sir Thomas Cobb in 1682.

Adderbury House housed troops in the Civil war when Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester and Prince Rupert of the Rhine were Royalist cavalry commanders there. In the 19th century, Adderbury House was in the posession of Major Larnach and when his Adderbury-trained horse Jeddah won the Derby at 100–1 and also won at Ascot, the Major gifted the building of the village Institute. This was opened in 1898 and has been the setting of countless village events since then, ranging from early instruction and sewing meetings to the present-day activities.

Morris

The existence of the traditional Adderbury morris dancing side was first documented by Janet Blunt. In 1916 she began interviewing William "Binx" Walton, who was then 80 years old. Walton had been foreman of the Adderbury side for a 20 year interval at the middle of the 19th century. In 1919 Blunt introduced Walton to Cecil Sharp, who watched Walton's performances and published detailed descriptions in his Morris Book.

Subsequent researches have determined that there were once as many as 3 morris sides in Adderbury, and the names of more than 2 dozen of the 19th century dancers have been documented. During Whitsun week they performed their dances in Adderbury and the neighboring towns.

There are several reports of Morris dancing in the Banbury area from years gone by. Puritans in the seventeenth century complained about Morris dancers and their ungodly ways. Towards the end of the eighteenth century local teams were recorded at Ayhno, Bicester, Brackley, Croughton, Kings Sutton, Middleton Cheney. During the nineteenth century sides were known to be active in Adderbury, Badby, Bloxham, Brackley, Bucknell, Deddington, Kings Sutton.

Teams regularly used to dance at Banbury Fair and the well known Banbury eccentric, William 'Old Mettle' Castle was fool for the Adderbury team in the last century. During the nineteenth century the village had two or possibly three teams performing although the practice had died out by the 1880's.

In Adderbury the dances were recorded from the last surviving member of the original team, William Walton, in such detail by Janet Blunt and others that the dances could still be performed by newly formed revival team. To date there are two morris dancing sides in Adderbury, The Adderbury Village Morris Men (dressed in top hats, and white and green) – who only dance traditional dancers from the village – and the Adderbury Morris Men (dressed in white, blue and red) who are more ecclectic. Adderbury became popular with groups of dancers from as far afield as the United States and Australia. Once a year both teams come together, with other guest sides for a "Day of Dance" throughout the village.