Howard Jones raises an interesting point: namely, if minstrelsy had such an impact on popular and traditional culture, then why was its influence not felt on Cotswold and North West morris - certainly in terms of blacking up?

Howard's conclusion was that "Border" morris already involved blacking up. That may be true, but E.C.Cawte's article in the 1964 Journal of the EFDSS (the article where he coined the term "Border", or "Welsh Border" morris) gives no pre-1800 references to blacking up. Admittedly, there are fewer references pre-1800, but as it was such a distinctive feature, it is surprising it's not mentioned - unless it was SO common that there was need to mention it.

Derek