Annotation:Chelmsford Assembly

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 CHELMSFORD ASSEMBLY. English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB (x3). Chelmsford (in Essex) is an Anglo-Saxon name denoting a ford across a river belonging to a man named Ceolmar (pronounced almost as Chelmer) {Matthews, 1972}. The melody first appears in London publisher John Johnson's Two Hundred Favorite Country Dances, vol. 8, printed in 1758 (p. 49), and seems unique to that collection (not having been appropriated in others' publications, as many popular tunes were). In modern times that dance has become popular at English Country Dancing events, propelled by the Frailibone collection and similar. Printed sources: Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Johnson & Luken (Twenty-Eight Country Dances as Done at the New Boston Fair), 1988, vol. 8; pg. 2.

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