William Kimber played a huge part in the revival of English folk dancing.

Here he is seen, in Picture 1 at the age of 86, playing the accordion for Morris dancers at a special event at Headington Quarry in Oxford in October 1958.

Earlier that day, he had cut a tape to open a new street named after him - William Kimber Crescent.

It was a fitting tribute to the man who was once described as the “father of the English modern tradition”.

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Kimber went to Sandfield Cottage in Headington Quarry with Morris dancers on Boxing Day 1899 to entertain guests and earn money - he was a bricklayer with no work due to the harsh winter.

There he met the owner’s son-in-law, Cecil Sharp, who was so impressed with the music and dancing he joined forces with Kimber to ‘spread the word’.

While Sharp lectured on the dances, Kimber demonstrated them and played the concertina.

Folk dancing, which was in danger of dying out, enjoyed a sudden revival, with Kimber invited to perform at the Royal Albert Hall and the Mansion House in London and before King Edward VII.

On Boxing Day 1959, to mark 60 years after they met, Kimber unveiled a plaque at Sandfield Cottage.

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He died in 1961, aged 89, but as the other photographs on this page show, his legacy has lived on.

Oxford Mail:

Picture 2 shows team squire Peter Davies with new postage stamps on English folklore issued by the Post Office in 1981. The stamps were in an envelope which carried the Headington dancers’ emblem.

Picture 3 was taken at Cowley Centre, now Templars Square, in 1967 when the Quarry men joined others to celebrate the start of National Folk Week. Crowds gathered to enjoy a series of dances, including the Cumberland Square Eight. The dancers had arrived in a procession of floats from the County Museum at Woodstock.

Oxford Mail:

In Picture 4, the Headington dancers are seen outside the Royal Albert Hall in London, where they were taking part in the 1969 English Folk Festival.

Oxford Mail:

Picture 5 takes us to the future of the Quarry team, with sons aged eight to 14 following in their fathers’ footsteps.

Oxford Mail:

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Picture 6 dates from 1969 when dancers performed near the site of Sandfield Cottage.

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