Pat recovered these steps from two families from Nelson, Lancashire, the Smiths and the Barnes. The main exponents were the Smiths, whose grandfather had been a heel and toe dancer and grandmother an Irish step dancer. The family appears to have combined together these two disparate styles to form an almost unique style of clog dance. The steps were dance informally at family gatherings an the like and an entrancing reconstruction of such a gathering, based on Pat’s memory of similar events in the 1940s can be viewed via the film links below.
At present it is not possible to unravel the source of any particular step unit however the majority were probably learned from the Smiths.
The IRT has yet to publish Pat’s material although much can be accessed via the manuscript and film links below.
The following film material is available:
- Reconstruction of a Smith family party, filmed in 1987.
- A selection of her Lancashire Irish Steps performed by Camden Clog at the Reading Day of Dance on 23rd October 1993
Information derived from the films listed above and an interview with Pat on 6/6/1981.