Abbots Bromley Horn Dance Abbots Bromley Horn Dance The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is an English folk dance dating back to the Middle Ages. The dance takes place each year in Abbots Bromley, a village in Staffordshire, England. The modern version of the dance involves reindeer antlers, a hobby horse, Maid Marian, and a Fool. There are no recorded references to the horn dance prior to Robert Plot's "Natural History of Staffordshire", written in 1686. However, there is a record of the hobby horse being used in Abbots Bromley as early as 1532, and it is possible that the horn dance component of the
Abbots Bromley "Bromley Abbatis" to Sir William Paget, Clerk of the Signet and Privy Councillor. The village was known as "Paget's Bromley" for several centuries, (distinguishing it from the part of the parish in the hands of the Bagot family, still known as "Bagot's Bromley") but eventually the influence of the Paget family declined, and the name reverted to "Abbots Bromley". Despite being an agricultural centre on account of its market and fairs, Abbots Bromley enjoyed some industrial success. In the 16th century it was a major centre for glass manufacture. In 1606 it gained a grammar school, now Richard Clarke First