The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, late 19th cent.

SRO D5748/6/2
©Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service

The Horn Dance is performed annually on the first Monday after the first Sunday after 4th September. It dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period and is thought to commemorate the granting of hunting rights.

The dancers consist of a Hobby Horse, a Maid Marian, a Fool, a Bowman and six deer men and are accompanied by an accordionist and a musician keeping time to a triangle. The proceedings begin at 8-00am with the collection of the ancient reindeer horns from the parish church and the dance is performed at a number of points around the parish. For the rest of the year the horns are kept in the church.