East Yorkshire Vessel Cuppers

Since 1983 a different facet of Green Oak has been the curious East Yorkshire Vessel Cuppers, performing the plough dances of the East Riding of Yorkshire. These were passed on to the then Green Oak Squire Paul Davenport about twenty five years ago by the last surviving dancer, an inhabitant of Roos in Holderness

1984

1998

2002

2003

The distinctive characteristic of these dances is the use of bones for rattling, or flags for waving.

The figures are simple, with variants of Back-to-Back, In-and-Out-the-Windows and Circle.

Dancers wear their working clothes, embellished with tea-cosies, feathers and other assorted finery that they have acquired.

The Vessel Cuppers performed at the Dancing England traditional dance showcase in 1984 at the Derby Assembly Rooms, and though a rare sight, may still occasionally be spotted in the Doncaster area in winter.