A brief history of the side

The side began as the Staploe Hundred Morris Men in 1975. Various changes around 1980-81 turned Staploe into the Devil's Dyke Morris Men, and we adopted the badge shown here.

The image represents, at the bottom, the low-lying watery areas of the fens, contrasted with the (somewhat) higher and more densely wooded lands of the area to the south of the fens. This reflects the mix of landscapes in which we dance.

In between the fens and the woods stands the Devil's Dyke, represented by the black and white line in the middle of the badge. The Dyke is a massive earthwork which stretches some 7.5 miles /12 km from Woodditton to Reach. Much of the Dyke is still impressively intact, and makes an excellent half day's walk. We danced along it in 1991 to raise money for VSO and for local charities, and again in 2001.

See the tab The Devil's Dyke for views on the history of the Dyke.

The dyke is presently the subject of a multi-agency project to restore it. See the web site www.devilsdykeproject.org.uk

See also the Reach web site for more about the Dyke.