Julie Marsden was the founder of the original
group known as The Shalesbrook Ladies Morris. In
the summer of 1977 Julie watched a dance
performance by the Ashdown Forest Morris Men (AFMM)
and was "hooked".
Soon there were enough ladies to dance and practices started in September 1977 at the Cricket pavilion in Forest Row. Andrew Norman, the foreman of the AFMM agreed to teach the dances and Richard Shepherd, the AFMM musician, played for them. Sandy remembers dancing Fieldtown Beetlecrushers very vigorously to rid the Cricket pavilion of Daddy Long Legs.
The first dance they learned was "Blue Eyed Stranger" from the village of Fieldtown followed by "Banks of the Dee" from the same village and then "Highland Mary" from Bampton.
Shalesbrook Ladies Morris danced in public for the first time around
Christmas 1977 with the AFMM at the Red Barn public house, Blindley Heath.
The local press took notice
and on Easter Monday, 1978 the "East Grinstead Courier" published an account of the start of Shalesbrooks’ first dance season, a public performance at the Anchor public house in Hartfield. Dancers at that event were: Julie Marsden, Sandy Derham, Glen Waters, Jane Williams, Tessa Hardy, Rachael Micham and Sheila Larkin. Richard Shepherd supplied music.