"The Memorials of Abram" by John Leyland published in 1882 refers to the annual Morris Dance:
The relevant entry in the accounts:
Although there is no factual evidence for his supposition it is interesting to note that newspaper reports of the dance in the mid-19th Century refer to the dance as dating back "some 100 years or so". More specifically, the newspaper account of the 1850 performance contains the following statement which appears to support his supposition.
There are many living who remember the dance 56 years ago, and whose fathers told them that before that time they were held almost annually