Morning Star Bledington Tune Dance Link
Old Woman Tossed Up Bledington Tune Dance Link
Maid of the Mill Bledington Tune Dance Link
Highland Mary Sherborne Tune Dance Link
Highland Mary Bledington Tune Dance Link
Balance the Straw Bledington Tune Dance Link
Jockie to the Fair Bledington Tune Dance Link
Jockie to the Fair Longborough Tune Dance Link
Princess Royal Bledington Tune Dance Link
Princess Royal Field Town Tune Dance Link
 
Links are offered to dances and tunes.

THE MORNING STAR

Play 4 times from Mr Charles Benfield Oct 11th 1925

in presence of D. N. K.

THE OLD WOMAN TOSSED UP

from Mr Charles Benfield Oct 11th 1925

THE MAID OF THE MILL

from Mr Charles Benfield Oct 11th 1925


The version which Mr Benfield plays has been noted by Mr Sharp, this is as he sings it -
to the words "The Maid of the Mill she's a sweet pretty girl the maid of the mill for me"

The Dance

June 1924 Mr Benfield played the version of "Maid of the Mill" published by Mr Sharp, Set V, p.6. Although he occasionally played G natural in the fourth bar of the B music he usually playe G#. It was a "side-step dance", the B music being danced as follows:-

c twr * * * c twl * sw up

{÷ r l r l ÷ r l r hr ÷ l r l r ÷ ft j ÷

ss lb ------ ss rb -------

and then a half hey. This is repeated to places.

Aug 1925 "Idbury Hill" is an alternative tune

Oct 1925 "The Old Woman Tossed Up" & "The Morning Star" are also alternative airs for the side step dance.

HIGHLAND MARY

(Bledington)

from Charles Benfield Sept 1924

BALANCE THE STRAW

(Bledington)

from Charles Benfield Aug 1925

in the presence of Ronald Gurney

The Jig

The footing for Balance the Straw is the same as that for Highland Mary

A Music

Shake up

ctw * * * sw up

{÷ r l r hr ÷ l r l hl ÷ ÷ ft j } that again

back step

Capers - Fore capers

out sw up out sw up sw up

{÷ rtb ft ÷ r W l ÷ ltb ft ÷ l W r ÷ ÷ ft j} that again

back step

 

Capers - Uprights

out sw up out sw up sw up

{÷ ra la ÷ l W r ÷ la ra ÷ r W l ÷ ÷ ft j } that again

back step

B Music

Side - Step

ctwr * * * ctwl * * *

{÷ r l r l ÷ r l r h r ÷ l r l r ÷ l r l hl }

ss lb ------- ss rb ----------

sw up sw up wave * * *

{÷ r W l r ÷ l W r l ÷ R L ÷ R L }

Jockie to the Fair

Copy made by Mr Joynes June 21st 1924

Jockie to the Fair

The Jig

This jig seems to have been known to all the morris men of the region, and to have been danced to a tune very like this one. It was usually danced by two dancers alternately. The most connected account was obtained from Mr. Richard Bond. The A music was six bars of step, shuffle and jump. The B music had a sise step for four bars like "Lumps of Plum Pudding" Then followed a number of half capers with single capers with waves to end up with. Mr Harry Taylor described the it as a "hard dance" by which he presumably meant it was tiring. The B music being so long gives plenty of scope for variations, different dancers as well as different villages did it differently no doubt. There was no doubt an augmented A music for capers.

 

PRINCESS ROYAL

(Bledington)

from Mr Charles Benfield Aud 1925

with the assistance of Ronald Gurney

Below was copied from Mr Robertson Scott's visitors book

The tune was noted by Mr Sharp from Richard Bond & written by him in the book

PRINCESS ROYAL Sung to Mr Sharp by Richard Bond (81)

R. B. 'Anybody that has a good ear can see by the tune what the steps are.' Sept 10-11 1923

The Tune

Aug 1925 On the occasion Aug when wefirst noted the tune & on aug when we heard it again Ronald Gurney & I were tolerably certain of the E flat. We found it impossible to be sure of all the notes in the early part of the B music.

Oct 1925 Mr Benfield played it at first with E natural but on repeating it twice consistently played E flat (except the two cases in the B music. Once he started the A music as in Richard Bond's version.

The Dance

The notation of the dance was first published by Mr Sharp & Mr MacIlwaine in the first edition of Part III. A revised version is given by Sharp & Butterworth in Part V

June 1924 Peter Fox & I saw Charles Taylor the old Oddington dancer dance part of the jig. In bars 879 of the B music he performed the following movements.

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