Though the first description of the Abram Morris Dancers and their Maypole dates from 1880, the Ordnance Survey map of 1846 records the existence of the plot of land in Park Lane known as the Morris Dancers’ Ground. This is adjacent to May Pole House, a farm that took its name from the dancers’ Maypole. When a coal pit was opened on Park Lane in 1895, it was named Maypole Colliery because of its proximity to the Morris Dancers’ Ground. It is likely that the customary use of the Park Lane plot for the erection of a Maypole and Morris dancing around it dates back to the eighteenth century (or earlier) and the tradition in Abram may be contemporary with the Maypoles in other Lancashire towns and villages. Interestingly there are no records of the dance ever having taken place on, or even about, May Day. The traditional time for the Morris Dance is at the end of June or in early July. This coincides with the local Wakes Week.