Thames Valley is a Cotswold Morris team with an administrative center in London, Ontario, Canada, where it was founded in 1981.

 Since its origins, it has been a single tradition team: we set out with Field Town, but over the years it evolved into what we came to call Thames Valley. This was simply intended as a reflection of the fact that our style, developed in substantial isolation, had become, for better or worse, quite distinctive, and of our maintaining a repertoire of dances which is now almost all of our own invention.

 Over the years, several out-of-town dancers became honorary membersof Thames Valley, regularly joining us at Ales and other events, such that we had, in addition to our home team, an international brotherhood of Thames affiliates. In recognition of this, some years ago we officially re-named ourselves Thames Valley International. If it weren't for these international brethren, the team would probably have disappeared long since; nowadays we glory in our scattered status, and our balancing act on the cusp of non-existence adds spice to team life. We now have a régime of semi-annual practices - Spring Break in London [though the last two years this has been moved to Easter in new York City wheer we practice on Saturday and dance out with Bouwerie Boys and Ring O'Bells on the Sunday]; U.S. Thanksgiving somewhere in New England.

Below are links to items further indicative of what we are and how we approach what we do,
together with the notations of our Thames Valley dance inventions.

You can find out more than you probably ever would want to know about morris dancing by visiting Rich Holmes' page, or looking up the many teams listed in Jeff Bigler's page.

Last updated: 05/2012