Nantwich, Cheshire, UK 25th January, 2014. Holly Holy Day & Siege of Nantwich re-enactment. For over 40 years the faithful troops of The Sealed Knot have gathered in the historic town for a spectacular re-enactment of the bloody battle that took place almost 400 years ago and marked the end of the long and painful siege of the town. Roundheads, cavaliers, and other historic entertainers converged upon the town centre to re-enact the Battle. The siege in January 1644 was one of the key conflicts of the English Civil War. Credit: Conrad Elias/Alamy Live News
Molly dancing has been recorded in many parts of the English Midlands and East Anglia. It died out during the early 1930s, the last dancers seen dancing in Little Downham near Ely, Cambridgeshire in 1933. On this occasion the dances performed included a tango, performed by two male dancers, one dressed as a woman. The only recorded Molly dances come from Comberton and Girton, villages just outside Cambridge, researched by Russell Wortley and Cyril Papworth. Some examples of the music played for the dancers have survived. These include George Green's College Hornpipe, collected from the Little Downham Melodeon player. Molly dancing also occurred throughout north Manchester and Salford on and around May Day (last recorded incidence in Salford c1963). This tradition was recorded in the works of the Opies, who wrote of journeying across Manchester one May Day in the 1950s and seeing many children taking part in this, and the related tradition (for girls) of May Queen celebrations. Molly dancing in Manchester was subject of a BBC Radio 4 Making History programme, and elicited a wide response from readers who remembered taking part. The tradition died out rapidly in the late 1950s, in large part because of post-war slum clearance programmes, which resulted in the widespread demolition of housing, and the break-up of communities.
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