Trill, Mr

Dancer

Collection date: Dec 1909

Area: Herefordshire

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Mr Trill of Brimfield morris (1884-1963): Brimfield is 7 miles N of Leominster. No tunes were collected during Sharp's visit on 27 Dec 1909 but dance figures were described in Folk Words 2191. See Folk Dance Notes vol1 p95 as well as Dave Jones ‘The Roots of Welsh Border Morris’ pp14-16.

The Brimfield morris men had a scratch 4-man side to demonstrate their dances to Sharp. They blacked their faces and said they only danced at Christmastime. Sharp took no special tunes (‘any polka … Schottisches too slow’) but noted their dance figures and wrote their history (Folk Dance Notes vol1 p95). Their leader Mr Trill referred to their sticking as ‘napping’. No bells nor handkerchiefs. In Sharp's field words notebook 1910/1 p5 it records a Tom Payne as the 'real musician, played last 14 years at Richard's Castle' (village 3 miles to NW).

There was only 1 man with the ‘Trill’ surname in Brimfield – George Henry Trill. He was only 25 when he met Sharp. He said he had learned some dancing at Chepstow but picked up the morris at Brimfield. He was born in January qr 1884 and in the 1891 census for Brimfield he was listed as age 7, born in Orleton, living with an older brother and his widowed mother Sarah, a laundress. His father William Trill, an agricultural labourer had died the year before. Sarah was remarried in 1892 and by 1901 George was working as a labourer in a coal yard (Brimfield ref RG13/2772 f43 p3). By 1911 he had an intriguing job title ‘converting English timber’ at Brimfield saw mill. He was married with 2 young children. He died 26/8/1963.