Annotation:Ashley's Flag (1)

ASHLEY'S FLAG. AKA - "Astley's Flag," "Distillery Hay." English, Reel. England, North-West. B Flat Major. Standard tuning. AABB. The tune first appears in Longman, Lukey & Broderips's Bride's Favourite Collection of 200 Select Country Dances, Cotillions and Allemands (London, 1776). Transported to America it appears as "Astley's Flag" in Joshua Cushing's Fifer's Companion (pg. 49) printed in 1805 in Salem, Massachusetts, and in the Elisha Belknap manuscript, compiled in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1784 as "Distillery Hay" (a title which refers probably to the circle-eight dance figure called a 'hey' or 'hay'). The title may refer to Sergeant Major Philip Astley, who is credited with creating the first modern circus in London during the sencond half of the 18th century.

Printed source: Knowles (Northern Frisk), 1988; No. 100.