Annotation:Vauxhall Dance

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VAUXHALL DANCE. English, Country Dance (6/8 time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. Vauxhall Gardens opened in 1660 as a place of entertainment for Londoners, on the south bank of the Thames. It was long one of the most famous of the London pleasure garden spas, where one could find dancing, fireworks and other entertainments. The gardens provided secluded walks and garden havens for privacy, or lit walks for public display. The finest singers and orchestras played for the delight of the crowds. Walpole, in one of his letters, says that at Vauxhall he ‘picked up Lord Granby, arrived very drunk from Jenny’s Whim’ (the latter was a resort in the south-west of London in the fields near Chelsea). The British Magazine reported on a visit to Vauxhall in 1782 by the Prince of Wales, who was able to enjoy the entertainment until the music concluded, and attentions wandered. He was discovered and some ladies in the crowd, anxious to be near the royal celebrity, began to pursue him. They were in turn pursued by the attending gentlemen, with the curious crowd soon joining in. Thus ensued a half-hour chase in which some minor injuries were sustained, along with many ruined dress outfits.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Hardings All-Round Collection, 1905; No. 4, p. 2.

Recorded sources:

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