Paper 38

Dancing at the Oatlands Fete, 1799

Contributed by Paul Cooper, Research Editor

The Royal Family held a garden party at Oatlands Palace near London in mid-1799, it was no more important to them than any of the many similar balls and fetes that they would attend each year, but on this occasion several reports of the dancing survive. In this paper we'll consider what we can learn about the dancing at the historical event.

Figure 1. Oatlands House in the early 19th Century. Image courtesy of the Royal Collection Trust.

The tunes and dances that we'll be investigating further in this paper are:

• Ramah Droog
• Miss Murray of Auchtentyre's Strathspey
• Reel of Four
• Tartan Plaiddie
• Lady Harriot Hope's Reel
• Mrs Garden of Troup's Strathspey

The Oatlands Fete

A royal palace had existed at Oatlands in Surrey since the 16th century, Oatlands was the home of the Duke and Duchess of York at our date of 1799; the occupier, Prince Frederick, Duke of York (1763-1827), was the second son of the monarch King George III and younger brother to the Prince of Wales. Frederick was effectively the Commander-in-Chief of the British armed forces, his wife (the Duchess of York) was Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (1767-1820).

Their home at Oatlands had been seriously damaged in 1794 when a fire broke out in the laundry that then spread to the armoury, 40lbs of gunpowder were reported to have exploded; fortunately the damage was constrained to a single wing and that was rapidly rebuilt. Oatlands remained the home of the Yorks throughout the 1790s, though they removed themselves to Weybridge in 1798 while it was undergoing a thorough repair (The Times, 2nd November 1798) (it was being renovated and modernised in the gothic style, see Figure 1). By early 1799 the Yorks were once again resident at Oatlands (The Observer, 6th January 1799); our Fete in mid 1799 may have been an opportunity to show off the newly renovated home.

Our Fete was, however, only one such ball in a packed programme of similar events; The Evening Mail (22nd May 1799) reported on recent balls hosted by the Queen and by the Duke of Cumberland, then added that The Duke of Kent is the next to give a grand Ball at his apartments in Kensington Palace. The Duchess of York is then to give a Fete at Oatlands; and the Princess of Wales is to conclude with a Ball at Carleton-House. Our 1799 Fete was the best documented of these events in the press, but it was only a single event in their calendar.

The terms Fete and Ball were somewhat interchangeable. A Fete was usually an outdoor event (or at least partially outdoors and perhaps under canvas) whereas a Ball was usually held indoors, a Fete was more likely to be held in the daylight hours while a Ball was more likely to be held overnight. The terminology was fluid however; a Ball might involve outdoor promenading, a Fete might involve indoor dancing; as with most terminology, the words could be bent to mean whatever the user wanted them to mean. The term Fete would hint at a Fête Champêtre, that in turn would hint at the splendour and elegance of a Versailles garden party of a century or so earlier, as celebrated in the Fête galante artistic movement; our Fete would be an elite form of entertainment for the court favourites.

Description of the Fete

Our Fete was probably held on Thursday the 29th May 1799 (the accounts differ on the precise date of the event), it was unfortunately a rainy day, many of the open air plans had to be abandoned. Numerous newspapers, in varying detail, carried descriptions of the gathering, one of the first was The Times (1st June 1799) which simply wrote:

In defiance of the rain, the Duchess of York's Fete at Oatlands on Thursday was splendid in the extreme. The Royal Family dined in the new apartment, called the Green Room, adjoining to which was the Ball Room; fronting the Thames on the lawn, six Marquees were erected, communicating to each other, where tables were spread for the Nobility. The dinner was served at three o'clock. On the table where the Royal Family were seated was a dish of green pease. During the Dinner, the Duke's band performed martial airs. After the Dessert, the company repaired to the Ball Room. Country Dances were led down by the Duke of Kent and Princess Augusta, to Scotch airs; and continued till eight in the evening; and at ten their Majesties and most of the company took leave of the Royal Highnesses.

Figure 2. Oatlands House seen from the direction of the River Thames. Image courtesy of the Royal Collection Trust.

A slightly different angle (and date) was offered by the Salisbury and Winchester Journal a couple of days later (3rd June 1799), several of the incidental details differed:

Yesterday the Fete given by the Duke and Duchess of York, to their Majesties &c. at Oatlands, proved a very splendid entertainment; but the al fresco part of the plan, for which the most elegant Champetre decorations had been arranged, was unfortunately prevented by the showery weather. The King, Queen, and Princesses arrived soon after two, where the Prince, and the Dukes of Clarence, Cumberland, Kent, and Gloucester, the Stadtholder, Princess of Orange, and the Foreign Ambassadors, Mr Pitt, Mr Dundas, and a large assemblage of the principal Nobility of both sexes, were assembled, with their Royal Hosts, in the new Saloon, to receive them, while a band of wind instruments were playing military music in the hall. About three, the company sat down to an elegant collation, and in the evening there was a brilliant Ball. The Majesties and the Princesses returned to the Queen's House, about half after eleven last night.

For the details of the dancing we'll turn to the Kentish Gazette (4th June 1799), dance references have been highlighted:

The day was most unfavourable to this magnificent Fete. It rained the whole day, and all the brilliancy of that part of the entertainment which depended on the weather was lost. Six tents, all corresponding with each other, were erected on the lawns, in which dinner was served to one hundred and sixty of the principal Nobility. The Royal party dined in the Conservatory, and they sat down twenty in number. The Princess of Wales was not present. The wetness of the day not merely made the tents uncomfortable, but the decorations of confectionary were damped on the tables. Nothing could be more superb than the plan of the fete. Though the entertainment was a modern dejeune, the whole was in the stile of an ancient dinner, and both the Ladies and Gentlemen were full drest. The Invitations were confined to the highest order of the Nobility, and the whole was conducted with attention to the most perfect rules of etiquette, the company taking their places according to precedence.

The dancing commenced about five o'clock, and here also the rule of precedence was observed, the couples preserving their places through the whole afternoon. The Princess Augusta and the Duke of Kent led the two first dances, and her Royal Highness led down the third and fourth with the Marquis of Huntley.

The first dance was Ramah Droog, second Miss Murray of Auchentire.

Between the second and third dance, their Majesties desiring to see the Highland Reel danced in its genuine purity, a reel was danced by the Marquis of Huntley and Lady Georgina Gordon, Colonel Erskine, and Lady Charlotte Durham, in which they displayed all the elastic motion, hereditary character, and boundless variety of the Scotch dance.

Third, The Tartan Pladie, or Lady Lowdon's Strathspey, fourth Lady Harriot Hope's Reel.

After a short interval, in which the company took tea, the ball recommenced, and the entertaining tune of Mrs Garden of Troup's Strathspey, called by the Princess Augusta, was danced twice over by all the set.

At 10 o'clock their Majesties departed for London, and they were soon followed by the rest of the company. The fine Park of Oatlands was open to the neighbourhood, and all the villagers were not only admitted to see the Fete, but strong ale, and all kinds of refreshments were distributed with the most liberal hand to the spectators, who blessed this renewal of the days of former hospitality.

Figure 3. The start of a song from the 1798 Ramah Droog (top), and the Ramah Droogh country dance from George Kauntze's c.1799 Collection of the most favorite Dances, Reels, Waltzes &c..

Most of the dancing evidently followed a Scottish theme, with a notable Reel of Four being displayed; strict rules of courtly precedence were followed for the dancing with couples taking their place based on their relative rank.

Next we'll consider each of the named dances in turn.

Ramah Droog

The Princess Augusta and the Duke of Kent led the two first dances ... The first dance was Ramah Droog,

Ramah Droog; or Wine Does Wonders was the name of a comic opera by James Cobb that was performed at Covent Garden theatre between late 1798 and early 1800, the associated music was composed by Joseph Mazzinghi and William Reeve - the score is available through Google Books, as is the libretto. The plot involved an adventure in British controlled India; an usurper had risen up and a British military detachment was captured, but after suitable heroics, a little cross dressing and a surprise hangover, the British carried the day. The name Ramah Droog referred to a fortress somewhere in India. Our country dancing tune of the same name was almost certainly derived from the music of the stage production; the Royal family were reported to have watched Ramah Droog at Covent Garden in late 1798 (The Observer, 2nd December 1798).

At least two country dancing tunes named Ramah Droog were published in London c.1800, though one was more widely issued by the music sellers; it's probable that it was this popular variant that was danced at our Fete in 1799. This particular tune was derived from an unnamed song from the opera that was described as being Sung by Mrs Mills and Mr Johnstone (see Figure 3). One of the first publications of this tune can be found in George Kauntze's c.1799 Collection of the most favorite Dances, Reels, Waltzes &c. (see Figure 3), thereafter it would appear in William Campbell's c.1800 15th Book and Goulding's 24 Country Dances for 1800; it would also be issued in Edinburgh in Nathaniel Gow's c.1800 Lady Mary Ramsay's Strathspey. The other tune of the same name was published in the Astor collection of 24 Country Dances for 1800.

This dance was led off by Princess Augusta and the Duke of Kent. Augusta was the older sister of the King and also the mother-in-law of the Prince of Wales; Prince George and his wife Princess Caroline of Brunswick (the daughter of Princess Augusta) were somewhat estranged at this 1799 date, we're told that Caroline did not attend this Fete. Augusta, as the senior Aunt, and on an occasion where strict rules of precedence were being observed, was invited to commence the dancing. Her partner for this dance was Prince Edward (another brother to the Prince of Wales and our host the Duke of York), he had recently returned from the Americas and had been appointed Duke of Kent only a month prior to our Fete; Edward, 20 years later, would go on to father the future Queen Victoria.

I've not encountered references to the tune being used for Country Dancing at any other social events, though it's likely to have been relatively popular after having received Royal patronage at our Fete. The opera remained known into the 1820s and beyond. This was the opening dance of the evening Ball and it's the only tune with no obvious connection to Scotland; adapting popular stage tunes into country dances was a common practice, many of the most successful tunes were borrowed from the stage. This particular tune had a patriotic theme that was likely to resonate, it may have been used in honour of the Duke of Kent who was being celebrated as a war hero. We've animated suggested arrangements of the c.1799 Kauntze version (see Figure 3) and the c.1800 Campbell version.

Miss Murray of Auchtentyre's Strathspey

... second Miss Murray of Auchentire.

Figure 4. John Bowie's c.1797 Miss Augusta Murray Ochtertyre's Strathspey from Four New Tunes (top); William Campbell's Mrs Murray of Auchtentyre from his c.1797 12th Book (centre); Gow's c.1799 Miss Murray of Auchtertyre's Strathspey (credited to John Bowie) from Part First of the Complete Repository of Original Scots Slow Strathspeys and Dances (bottom).

Numerous different tunes were circulating around the end of the 18th Century which might perhaps be candidates for the tune danced at our Fete, but one particular candidate was widely published c.1800, it was clearly the popular tune; but as we'll see, even this popular tune is subject to significant confusion spanning its title, provenance, and even touching upon a Royal scandal!

Credit for composing the popular tune was ascribed to (and also claimed by) John Bowie of Perthshire. Bowie published at least four collections of dance tunes that he'd composed himself; he issued a large collection of Reels and Strathspeys c.1789, a collection of four new tunes c.1797, a collection of six and a further short collection of tunes c.1801. I've studied the first three collections, none of them contain our tune; the final c.1801 collection may have contained it, but Bowie described himself when advertising it as John Bowie, Author of Miss Murray of Ochtertyre's Strathspey, and others so much danced of late; the implication being that the tune had already been published prior to 1801. It may be noticed that Bowie credited the tune to a Miss Murray of Ochtertyre, whereas most references to the tune (as we shall see shortly) associate it with Auchtertyre, these two areas of modern Scotland are separated by over 100 miles, the difference may not be merely in spelling. That stated, Auchtertyre may simply be an anglicised variant of Ochtertyre, the two names may be equivalent.

The tune was published several times in London between 1797 and 1799, the first Scottish publication I can confirm was that of the Gows, they included it in their c.1799 Part First of the Complete Repository of Original Scots Slow Strathspeys and Dances under the name Miss Murray of Auchtertyre's Strathspey, they explicitly credited composition to Bowie (see Figure 4, bottom). Bowie himself had published a tune named Miss Augusta Murray Ochtertyre's Strathspey in his c.1797 collection of Four New Tunes (see Figure 4, top), but that tune was entirely different to the tune published by Gow, despite closely matching the name that Bowie himself claimed to be so much danced of late. The possibility therefore exists that Gow was mistaken in crediting the tune to Bowie, the similar titles may have confused the Gows into offering the composition credit inaccurately; maybe Bowie himself come to believe that his c.1797 tune was the tune that was popular in London, he may have believed this based on nothing more than Gow having publicly credited him as the composer! There again, maybe Bowie really did compose the tune and it circulated without his having published it; if so, it seems to have emerged in London before being published in Scotland. The name Miss Augusta Murray (as used by Bowie in the title of his arguably unrelated tune) will be of some significance shortly, we'll return to it in a moment.

The very first publication of the popular tune that I can identify was that of William Campbell in London, it was part of his c.1797 12th Book, issued under the name Mrs Murray of Auchtentyre (see Figure 4, centre). It's unlikely that Campbell was the composer as he invariably claimed credit for his own compositions, many of the tunes he issued were first published in Edinburgh so it's likely to have previously circulated there before he published it. Campbell named the tune for Mrs Murray, not the Miss Murray of Bowie and Gow; and he located her (as Gow went on to do) in Auchtertyre, not Bowie's Ochtertyre. The possibility exists that Campbell had deliberately obscured the title for publication in London as the name Miss Augusta Murray was of some significance, we'll discover in a moment how it would have been an embarrassment to the Royal Family! If Campbell did obscure the title then Gow (and most of the other publishers) were influenced by that decision.

Before considering the Royal scandal we should first consider another curious publication of the tune. I'm indepted to Alena Shmakova for pointing out that our tune can also be found in an Edinburgh publication published by N. Stewart named The South Fencible's March. This work is challenging to date, my best guess is that it dates somewhere between 1796 and 1800; as such it could have been Campbell's direct source for the tune... or it could have been published after the tune became successful in London. The British Library date Stewart's publication to the year 1800.

The King's 6th son was Prince Augustus Frederick (1773-1843, see Figure 5), he would later become the Duke of Sussex; he had secretly married Lady Augusta Murray of Dunmore (1768-1830) in 1793, contrary to the wishes of his father and illegally under the terms of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act. His older Brother Prince George the Prince of Wales had done the same thing with Mrs Fitzherbert in 1785, and in both cases the marriages were legally dissolved by the King. The marriage of Augustus and Augusta was formally annulled in 1794 and Lady Augusta Murray was left to raise their son alone. The couple did briefly reunite later in 1799 resulting in a second illegitimate child, followed by a permanent separation. It's possible that Campbell, or some other agent in London, had modified the name of our tune to avoid any implied dedication to the Prince's unofficial bride; Lady Augusta Murray of Dunmore was a completely different person to Miss Augusta Murray of Ochtertyre, and Miss/Mrs Murray of Auchtertyre was probably someone else again; but the potential for embarrassment was tangible.

Figure 5. Lady Augusta Murray (left) and Prince Augustus Frederick (right); right image courtesy of the Royal Collection Trust.

This does raise the intriguing question of why the tune featured so prominently in our Fete of 1799. Surely there was no intended reference to Lady Augusta Murray... but perhaps someone was manipulating events? Was the tune perhaps introduced as a joke? It's unclear (to me) whether Prince Augustus was even in England at our date in 1799, he had been staying in Naples but he had been recalled to London and may have arrived in time to attend our Fete; it's curious that within a few months of the date of our Fete the couple were reunited. Perhaps the Prince of Wales himself championed the tune as a sly prank at the expense of his parents, a cabal of intimates may have been aware that the tune was known by more than one name, and that the original dedicatee may have been named Augusta. The title might be thought particularly cruel as it emphasised the unmarried state of the dedicatee. What is clear is that the tune had become a hit, it was readily available from the London music sellers under various names, mostly derived from the title used by Campbell. Indeed, the tune had featured in at least two Royal Balls already; it featured at a Windsor Ball of 1797 under the name Miss Murray's Strathspey (Gloucester Journal, 29th May 1797), and at the Queen's Ball a few days prior to our Fete under the name Miss Murray of Aughtentire (Kentish Gazette, 24th May 1799). The joke, if it was a joke, was already old.

A further anomaly can be found in the tune having yet another name; the Preston publishing company issued it under the name Lady Portmores Reel in their collection of 24 Country Dances for 1800. The last Lady Portmore died in early 1799; there's probably no significance to their name, but it's possible that it was a yet older name for the tune.

The tune was may have been composed by Bowie and it might have been dedicated to a Miss Augusta Murray, the evidence seems uncertain; but it certainly was published many times in both London (c.1797-1805) and Edinburgh (c.1799-1805); it was indisputably a popular tune. It remained sufficiently relevant for Thomas Wilson to include suggested figures for the tune in his 1809 Treasures of Terpsichore, though references thereafter are harder to find. We've animated a suggested arrangement of Wilson's 1809 figures for Mrs Murray to Gow's c.1799 music (composition of which was credited to John Bowie, see Figure 4 bottom), and of William Campbell's c.1797 version (see Figure 4, centre).

For futher references to the tune, see also: Miss Murray of Auchtertyre's Strathspey at The Traditional Tune Archive

Reel of Four

Between the second and third dance, their Majesties desiring to see the Highland Reel danced in its genuine purity, a reel was danced by the Marquis of Huntley and Lady Georgina Gordon, Colonel Erskine, and Lady Charlotte Durham, in which they displayed all the elastic motion, hereditary character, and boundless variety of the Scotch dance.

The Reel was a form of dancing particularly associated with Scotland; the music for a Reel is often compatible with that of a typical Country Dance and the dancing involves a mixture of weaving and setting (also known as footing) movements. The anonymous author of the 1764 Country Dancing Made Plain and Easy explained that Reeling and Heying were essentially the same form of movement, though some make a distinct dance of it, by footing in the middle of the turns, and which they call Reeling. If a Reel is danced in its pure form (rather than as a figure within a country dance) then This may also be done by four, or any number, long ways, turning round when you come to the ends. Figure 6 depicts what might be the start of a Reel of Four from a print dating to 1798; the four figurants stand in a line, the two middle dancers facing the two outer dancers, all start by passing right shoulders, then the new middle two pass left shoulders in the middle as the ends dance a large loop over their right shoulders, then repeat in a weaving pattern; the fancy setting will happen on the spot in the middle of the turns. A Reel might be danced with three people, four, five, etc., our example was evidently a Reel of Four; the setting section of the dance would be spontaneously improvised rather than involving a scripted routine.

The dance might sound simple, but it can be exhausting to dance; the skill is in the fancy stepping, graceful use of the arms, the snapping of fingers, and the whooping and other vocal gymnastics; or, as our correspondent put it, in the elastic motion, hereditary character, and boundless variety of the dance. Later writers would comment that it was inappropriate to dance a Reel simultaneously with a Country Dance; it is possible for three or four people to dance a Reel together alongside a longways set of Country Dancers to the same music, but it would be disrespectful to do so.

Figure 6. Highland Reel, 1798 (left), and the track of a Reel of Four (right). Left image courtesy of the British Museum, right image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Note the dripping candle wax and the enthusiastic dog.

On this occasion the King requested that a Reel be danced, several members of the Scottish nobility obliged. The Marquis of Huntly was the first of the party, he was George Gordon (1770-1836) son of the Duke and Duchess of Gordon, he would later become the 5th Duke; George's youngest sister Lady Georgiana Gordon (1781-1853) was the second member of the party, she would go on to become the Duchess of Bedford. Their mother, Lady Jane, Duchess of Gordon was a great favourite of the Prince of Wales, she was credited with promoting Scottish culture in London, and notably Scottish music and dancing. The Marquis was evidently a favourite of the Queen, he led down the two dances following this Reel with her. The third of the dancers was Colonel Erskine (1770-1813), later Major-General Erskine, 2nd Baronet Erskine; the fourth was Lady Charlotte Durham (1771-1816), a recently married daughter of the Earl of Elgin. They evidently performed well; most of the dances at our Ball were Country Dances and would have been danced for the enjoyment of the dancers themselves, whereas this Reel of Four was performed to impress an audience (somewhat like the performance of a courtly Minuet, though in a very different style). The entire event was conducted on a Scottish theme, the inclusion of a Reel would have been highly suitable to the occasion.

Occasional references to the Reel being danced in England exist from at least as early as the 1760s, particularly on stage in Allan Ramsay's The Gentle Shepherd and similar (e.g. Newcastle Courant, 23rd July 1763). Mr Wood, a dancing master from Halifax, advertised that he taught the Reel in 1778 (Manchester Mercury, 6th January 1778); other northern dancing masters began doing so from a similar date. Several London based dancing masters advertised tuition in the Reel from around 1789 (including Mr Wilson, Wills, Jenkins, Le Pulley, etc.); Alexander Wills, for example, advertised that he taught the Scotch Steps and Dances now become so fashionable in all polite assemblies (The Times, 25th December 1789) in late 1789. A popular comic romance named The Highland Reel had been performed from late 1788 at London, Bath and elsewhere. Scottish styles of dancing were increasingly popular with London's dancing masters throughout the 1790s, the King took interest from at least as early as 1797 when it was recorded that (Ipswich Journal, 12th August 1797) Their Majesties excursion at sea on Monday, on board the St. Fiorenzo frigate, was the most pleasant and agreeable of any they have experienced, to which the fineness of the day greatly contributed. The Royal Family dined on board the ship; the band belonging to the Scotch Greys performed during the time, and the sailors after dinner danced reels to the most favourite Scotch airs, the drum and fife playing to them on the quarter-deck. By our date of 1799 the Reel would have been fairly well known amongst London's dancers. Our ball wasn't the first at which the Reel of Four was danced by fashionable society in London; at least one earlier example exists from 1792 (Kentish Gazette, 8th May 1792), a Ball hosted by the Duchess of Gordon at which the Marquis of Huntly, and the Earl of Elgin, and two Ladies, had a Reel, the Marquis snapping his fingers at the intervals with the true Caledonian fervour; it's likely that many still earlier examples will have existed without clear evidence having survived.

The popularity of the Reel in London may have grown alongside that of the Highland Fling; the Prince of Wales himself was responsible, at least in part, for the dance known as the Royal Highland Fling. The Morning Post for the 18th January 1786 reported: The Caledonian Reel still continues to be the fashionable country dance in all assemblies which the Prince honours with his presence; he calls it the Bonny Duchess, in honour of her Grace of G-----, who first gave him an idea of the Royal Highland Fling, which he now performs with all the activity and spirit of a Strathspey-man. The obscured honouree was of course the Duchess of Gordon. The context isn't entirely clear, the Prince may have been dancing to a tune named The Caledonian Reel or he may in fact have been dancing a Reel in a style that would go on to be referred to as the Royal Highland Fling; either way, the Prince of Wales had been dancing in a Scottish style under the influence of the Duchess long before our 1799 date.

The Aberdeen based dancing master Francis Peacock published his Sketches Relative to the History and Theory, but more especially to the Practice of Dancing in 1805, he wrote extensively on the Reel, including detailed information about the steps that might be used. He included an anecdote of London based dancing masters travelling to Edinburgh for tuition in the steps: it is no uncommon thing, at Edinburgh, to see men of our profession who come there with no other view, but to acquire a knowledge of the proper steps made use of in that dance. It is not long since that two of them (father and son) came from London to Edinburgh, for no other purpose; and as they had their own carriage, it may be presumed that they must have been men of some reputation in their profession. ... I mention this circumstance, as a proof of what importance they thought a right knowledge of the dance in question might be to them, on their return to London. It's unclear who the carriage owning dancing masters may have been or the precise date of Peacock's observation. Peacock entered into a partnership with Mr James Douglas in 1800 (Aberdeen Journal, 6th October 1800), Peacock described his new partner as knowing all the newest Reel Steps, &c. as taught in London and Edinburgh thereby emphasising the importance of the Reel in London.

The transmission of dance culture wasn't simply in a single direction however, dancing masters from Edinburgh also adopted the various innovations in Scottish style that arose in London. London hosted a small but influential community of Scottish peers who were lured to Westminster each year; this group included the Duke and Duchess of Gordon amongst many others, they organised themselves to form the Highland Society of London from 1778. This group promoted what may have been an idealised vision of Scottish music and dance in London, a style that would be championed by the Prince of Wales himself; having received Royal approbation the Londonesque style would subsequently be re-imported back to Scotland. For example, Mr Ritchie a dancing master from Edinburgh, travelled to London in 1802 and advertised on his return (Caledonian Mercury, 9th October 1802): Mr R. begs to add, that he has been favoured by Mr JENKINS, Teacher to the Royal Family, with a great variety of new Steps for Scotch Reels and Country Dances now danced at Court. Mr Jenkins was a dancing master of Scottish extraction who taught in London, he had been appointed dancing master to Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1801. His new steps for the Scotch Reel were adopted by Ritchie (and others) and brought back to Scotland for wider dissemination. Discussions of national identity get complicated!

The Reel would go on to be an important dance in the ballrooms of London's aristocracy over the 15 or 20 years following our Fete. The Reel had grown in significance over several decades, promoted by the members of the Highland Society amongst others, 1799 marked the start of its particular popularity in London. Reels would often be danced towards the end of a society ball of the 1800s or 1810s, a time when many of the company were tiring and only the most enthusiastic of dancers would remain active. Our Fete of 1799 may have been influential in promoting the dance, it would go on to be danced in fashionable assemblies around the country.

Tartan Plaiddie / Highland Plaiddie / Lady Loudon's Strathspey

Third, The Tartan Pladie, or Lady Lowdon's Strathspey

Numerous tunes with names that were minor variations on Tartan Pladdie circulated in the late 18th century, at least a half dozen candidates are readily available; our correspondent has helpfully disambiguated the tune from the Ball by providing the alternative title of Lady Lowdon's Strathspey. This particular tune was widely published in both London and Edinburgh from around the year 1788. The composer of the tune was probably William Gow, Nathaniel Gow credited William (his Brother) as the composer in his 1818 Part First of The Beauties of Niel Gow; the tune had previously been included in Niel Gow's 1788 A Second Collection of Strathspey Reels &c. without a composition credit (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. The Highland Plaid, or the Tartan Plaiddie from William Campbell's c.1788 3rd Book (above), and Lady Loudon's Strathspey from Niel Gow's c.1788 A Second Collection of Strathspey Reels, etc. (below). Upper image courtesy of Cardiff University.

The Gows published the tune in Edinburgh as Lady Loudon's Strathspey, but it was also published in London as The Highland Plaid or the Tartan Plaiddie in William Campbell's c.1788 3rd Book (see Figure 7). The precise chronology of publication is uncertain, Campbell sourced many of his tunes from Edinburgh so it's likely that the Gow publication was issued first; if so, Campbell didn't retain the original name for the tune. His new name of Tartan Plaiddie was already established in London, it was associated with a popular song from a comic opera also named Tartan Plaiddie (the music for which was credited to James Hook) that circulated in 1787. It's possible that Campbell simply picked the name Tartan Pladdie as the title was already known; it's also possible that the Gow tune was used within the stage production without credit, or perhaps even that the Gow claim was erroneous. The tune was evidently popular as it remained in print into the early 19th Century.

Other early publications of the tune in London include Thomas Jones's 1789 Ten new Country Dances & three Cotillons and Longman & Broderip's c.1791 Selection of the most favorite Country Dances, Reels &c. (their version was copied from Campbell's publication verbatim, despite their having acted as the publisher for Jones' edition a couple of years earlier). Joseph Dale issued it in his c.1799 Selection of the most favorite Country Dances, Reels &c. (Dale's version was copied verbatim from Longman & Broderip, just as their version had been copied from Campbell). The tune was also available in Preston's early 1790s Selection of the most favorite Country-Dances, Reels &c., the precise publication date of which remains uncertain; also as The Highland Plaid in Napier's c.1806 Selection of Dances & Strathspeys. The London publications of the tune invariably used some variation of Campbell's name, typically The Tartan Plaiddie.

The tune was also published multiple times in Scotland; it can be found in John Anderson's c.1789 A Selection of the most Approved Highland Strathspeys, Country Dances, English & French Dances, and in the c.1794 Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, Vol IV that was issued by John McFadyen in Glasgow and is usually credited to James Aird. The Scottish publications retain the original name of Lady Loudon's Strathspey.

The name tartan plaiddie refers to an item of Highland clothing; the wearing of highland dress had been prohibited in 1746 in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite Uprising, that act was subsequently repealed in 1782 under the influence of the Highland Society of London. The title of the tune (as used in London) had a political significance, it was indicative of the Hanoverian success in reuniting the nation and the renewed confidence in celebrating Scottish identity. The (presumably) original name of the tune involved a dedication to Lady Loudoun, she was Lady Flora Mure-Campbell, 6th Countess of Loudoun (1780-1840); she received her title in 1786 when her father died, the tune may have been composed and dedicated to her (despite her young age) at around that date. The tune may of course have been dedicated to her mother the preceding Lady Loudon, but her mother had died in 1780 (perhaps as a result of child birth), so unless the tune had circulated for some time prior to 1788 that dedication seems unlikely. Dedicating a tune to a child or infant seems not to have been uncommon; for example, a report from 1806 (Morning Post, 29th November 1806) mentions a tune named Lord Ramsay that was composed by Mr Gow, in complement to the infant son of Lord Dalhousie; we'll find another such example in just a moment involving Lady Harriot Hope.

The inclusion of the tune in this Scottish themed Ball was clearly highly suitable; it was already an old tune by our 1799 date, but despite having circulated for over a decade it was selected and enjoyed. We've animated a suggested arrangement of Campbell's c.1788 version of the dance (see Figure 7), and also of Thomas Jones's 1789 version.

For futher references to the tune, see also: Lady Loudon at The Traditional Tune Archive

Lady Harriot Hope's Reel

... fourth Lady Harriot Hope's Reel.

Figure 8. Lady Harriot Hopes Reel from Wheatstone's 1806 Sixteen Favorite Country Dances (above), and from Bremner's c.1757 A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances (below). Upper image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD, b.49.e.(5.) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This tune was published a great many times in both London and Edinburgh, it was clearly an enduring favourite. The earliest publication was probably in 1757 as part of A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances issued in Edinburgh by Robert Bremner (see Figure 8), Bremner's volume was subsequently republished in London in the early 1760s. Thereafter it was published in London in the c.1772 third volume of Rutherford's Compleat Collection of the most celebrated Country Dances and in Thompson's c.1789 Caledonian Muse. It appeared again in Joseph Dale's c.1804 3rd Number, in William Napier's c.1806 Selection of Dances & Strathspeys and in Charles Wheatstone's 1806 Sixteen Favorite Country Dances (see Figure 8). Thomas Wilson referenced the tune in his 1809 Treasures of Terpsichore and also printed the music in his 1816 Companion to the Ball Room. The tune can also be found in both the Goulding and Davie collections of the early 1800s (though I can't provide precise dates of publication). Scottish publications of the tune include James Aird's c.1783 A Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, volume 2, John Anderson's c.1789 A Selection of the most Approved Highland Strathspeys, Country Dances, English & French Dances, Robert Petrie's 1796 A Second Collection of Strathspey Reels (and then again in his 1799 Third Collection) and Niel Gow's 1799 Part First of the Complete Repository of Original Scots Slow Strathspeys and Dances.

The identity of the dedicatee, Lady Harriot Hope, isn't entirely obvious, though two strong candidates emerge. The first identification is with Lady Henrietta Hope, 1746-1786, the other is with her grandmother, Lady Henrietta Hope, 1682-1750. The elder Henrietta was married to Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun; they had a son John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun and he in turn was the father of the younger candidate. Henrietta, of whichever generation, was a member of the Scottish nobility. The earliest known publication of the tune dates to 1757; the tune could have been composed some years before it was published and dedicated to the grandmother, or it could have been dedicated posthumously to the grandmother; but most references to Lady Harriot Hope after 1750 were to the granddaughter, it's likely that dancers of the late 18th century would have assumed that the granddaughter was the dedicatee. The younger Henrietta certainly was known as Harriot, it's less clear that the elder was also known by the same diminutive. It therefore seems likely that the tune was dedicated to the younger Henrietta, despite her being only 11 years of age in 1757; we saw a similar pattern in identifying the dedicatee of Lady Loudon's Strathspey (above), that time the dedicatee was potentially an 8 year old heiress.

This tune did feature in several royal balls around the turn of the 19th century; for example, it was used at the King's Birthday Ball a few days after our Fete, the Evening Mail (3rd June, 1799) reported The Ball-Room was not crowded with company, though the dancers were unusually numerous. Twenty three minuets were danced, and only one country dance, viz Lady Harriot Hope. The tune also featured at a Ball hosted by the Queen in early 1800 (Caledonian Mercury, 6th January 1800), then again a year later (Salisbury and Winchester Journal, 26th January 1801) at which two country dances took place, namely Lady Harriot Hope and Miss Murray, both of which were admirably played by Gow. It then appeared as the second dance at a royal ball of 1802 (Morning Post, 16th June 1802), but thereafter society references to the tune faded away; it was especially popular for perhaps four or five years.

We've animated suggested arrangements of Wheatstone's 1806 version (see Figure 8), and one of Thomas Wilson's 1809 arrangements to the Goulding music.

For futher references to the tune, see also: Lady Harriet Hope (1) at The Traditional Tune Archive

Mrs Garden of Troup's Strathspey

After a short interval, in which the company took tea, the ball recommenced, and the entertaining tune of Mrs Garden of Troup's Strathspey, called by the Princess Augusta, was danced twice over by all the set.

This tune, requested by Princess Augusta was very popular around the start of the 19th Century; it was composed by Robert Petrie and published in Edinburgh in his 1796 A Second Collection of Strathspey Reels &c. (see Figure 9). Petrie worked for the Garden family of Troup House, he dedicated this tune (and also the whole book) to his employer's wife.

The tune was first published in 1796, by 1799 it would appear in several further collections issued in both Edinburgh and London. It was issued in Edinburgh in Niel Gow's 1799 Part First of the Complete Repository of Original Scots Slow Strathspeys and Dances (on the same page as Lady Harriot Hope and immediately after Miss Murray of Auchtertyre's Strathspey), in Nathaniel Gow's c.1800 Miss Heron of Heron's Reel publication (where it was described as having been danced at the Edinr Card and Dancing Assemblies) and in Thomas Calvert's c.1799 A Collection of Marches & Quick Steps, Strathspeys & Reels. It was published in London by William Campbell in his c.1799 14th Book. Thereafter it would appear in the Fentum collection of 24 Country Dances for 1799, the Astor collection of 24 Country Dances for 1800 and also in one of the c.1800 collections issued by Joseph Dale (he issued several publications with the same cover, disambiguating them is a challenge). The tune also appears in the Preston collection of 24 Country Dances for 1800 under the alternative title of Mrs Gardner of Troops Reel, and also in the Cahusac collection of 12 Country Dances for 1800 under the name Mrs. Gordon of Troup's Reel. It appears at a slightly later date in Abraham Mackintosh's c.1805 A Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Jigs &c., and in George Walker's 1807 13th Number.

Figure 9. Mrs Garden (of Troup's) Strathspey from Robert Petrie's 1796 A Second Collection of Strathspey Reels &c (above), and the Scotch Air from J.H. D'Egville's 1801 Barbara & Allen (below). Upper image courtesy of Historical Music of Scotland.

Identifying the dedicatee, Mrs Garden of Troup, is a little complicated. The Garden family of Troup House in Banffshire were particularly fond of the names Alexander and Francis, these names reappear dozens of times over the generations thereby confusing the historical record. A helpful genealogical tree of the family can be found here. The Gardens of Troup had thrived in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprisings, their estates grew and their wealth increased. Alexander Garden (1714-1785), the oldest of three brothers, served as a Member of Parliament, but he died unmarried in 1785; Troup House then passed to his brother Francis Garden (1721-1793), he was a senator of the College of Justice with the honorific title of Lord Gardeston. When Francis (also apparently unmarried) died the estate might have been expected to pass to their younger brother Peter Garden (1723-1795) and his wife, but it instead passed to Peter's son Francis Garden of Dalgety (captain in 53rd Foot) (The Scots Magazine, 1st July 1793). Peter had married Katherine Balneaves of Glenlyon, she was the heiress presumptive of the Campbells of Glenlyon, and so Peter adopted the additional surname of Campbell; this made him Peter Garden-Campbell. Peter had bought Delgatie Castle in 1762, thus his son Francis could style himself Francis Garden-Campbell of Delgaty at the 1793 date that he succeeded to the family estate at Troup House. It was this Francis who was the employer of Robert Petrie (the composer of our tune), the Caledonian Mercury (23 November 1795) reported that Petrie had just been officially registered as the Gamekeeper for Francis Garden of Troup in 1795; Delgatie Castle was sold in 1798 and so Troup House was evidently where Francis primarily lived. Our Francis had married Penelope Smyth from Ballinatray (in Ireland) in 1791, she must therefore have been the Mrs Garden of Troup to whom Petrie dedicated this tune (and also the entirety of his 1796 Second Book). Francis and Penelope in turn had a son who was also named Francis Garden; Petrie dedicated his c.1800 Third Book to Francis Garden Esqr Junior of Troup, presumably the son of his employer. Our Francis would eventually inherit the Glenlyon titles and estate in 1806, thereby becoming Francis Garden-Campbell of Troup and Glenlyon. The Garden family of Troup House were evidently wealthy local Lairds, but they're unlikely to have been known to the London nobility at our 1799 Fete.

The tune was probably danced to at several royal balls at around the turn of the century; a tune named Garden of Troop's Reel (note Reel rather than Strathspey) featured at the Queen's Ball a few days prior to our Oatlands Fete (Kentish Gazette, 24th May 1799) then again in January of the following year (Caledonian Mercury, 6th January 1800). Petrie did compose another tune named Mrs Garden of Troop's Reel, but that tune was not widely published; whereas, both Cahusac and Preston published our Strathspey in London with the suffix Reel in collections issued for the year 1800; it therefore seems probable that the same tune was used at all three Balls, just with differing names. It was also danced at The Duchess of Chandos's Ball in 1801 under the name Mrs Gardner a troop (Morning Post, 5th May 1801), at The Duchess of Chandos's Ball in 1802 (Morning Post, 26th April 1802), at Lady Bridget Bouverie's Ball in 1802 (The Courier, 5th April 1802), at The Queen's Ball (The Courier, 21st May 1802), at Mrs Thompson's Ball (Morning Post, 27th May 1802), and also at Her Majesty's Ball in 1803 (Lancaster Gazette, 28th May 1803) under the name Mrs Garden of Troop.

The tune of Mrs Garden of Troup's Strathspey remained popular in London through to about 1807 under a new name and with a new composition credit. James Harvey D'Egville was credited as the composer of the 1801 pastoral ballet of Barbara and Allen, one of the acts involved a Scottish themed dance performed on stage by Miss Hilligsberg, the music for which was our tune of Mrs Garden of Troup's Strathspey (although uncredited as such, see Figure 9). It's unclear whether D'Egville was deliberately appropriating credit for the tune, it was after all a well known tune at that date and the duplication was likely to be recognised. He may have simply used the tune believing that country dancing music was implicitly of common ownership, and not subject to copyright protection; it would take another 15 or so years for that legal theory to be proven wrong. The Cahusacs published the tune in their collection of 24 Country Dances for 1802 under the name Barbara & Allen; whereas Goulding & Co. (and the publishers who copied from them) issued the same tune as Mrs Garden of Troop, or Barbara & Allen in their c.1805 7th Number. John Baptist Cramer even published a Rondo arrangement of the Scotch Air from Barbara & Allen in 1801 (Morning Post, 5th November 1801), he may have done so whilst remaining oblivious to the true origins of the tune.

We're informed that the tune was so popular at our Oatlands Fete that it was danced twice over by all the set. That's a clear testament to its quality. The dancers could have requested another tune, but despite having already used the tune for maybe half an hour or more, they elected to dance it through a second time. Mrs Garden and her gamekeeper must have been delighted when they eventually heard of their triumph!

We've animated suggested arrangements of the Cahusac version for 1800 and the Preston version for 1800.

For futher references to the tune, see also: Mrs. Garden of Troup (1) at The Traditional Tune Archive

Conclusion

This event may have been conducted with formal rules of precedence but it was evidently enjoyed by the attendees, without undue ceremony. A Reel of Four was demonstrated and the final dance was performed twice through, this was despite the unfortunate rain that had spoiled so many of the carefully made plans. The theme of the event was predominantly Scottish, but not exclusively so.

We're not told who led the band at the Fete. It's likely that at least one of the London based Gow brothers was present in some capacity (either Andrew or John) as someone sent timely information back to Edinburgh, not just for this ball, but for all the Scottish tunes that were becoming popular in London. Nathaniel Gow edited Part First of the Complete Repository of Original Scots Slow Strathspeys and Dances, by Niel Gow & Sons in Edinburgh, the book was advertised for sale from August 1799 and it included the tunes from our Ball in clear consecutive order. That seems unlikely to be coincidental, Nathaniel was taking care to include the popular-in-London Scottish tunes in his publication; perhaps he was in London himself at our date. The Gows were influential in promoting Scottish tunes in London over the following couple of decades; at our 1799 date they seem to have been printing Scottish tunes in-arrears after they were already successful in London, they would soon be ahead of the trend and would publish the Scottish tunes in Edinburgh that would go on to become successful in London. The Gow band would become synonymous with Scottish dancing in London and every hostess would aspire to hire the Gow band for her ball; if they were present at our 1799 Fete then that event may have been significant in promoting their services.

This ball was not the first in London to feature a performance of the Reel, but it is the best documented of those that did. This Fete may have been especially influential in promoting the Reel in London, it is certainly evidence of the growing popularity of the Reel and of Scottish themed dancing in general.

If you'd like to recreate a Fete of 1799 then the tunes we've identified in this paper are clearly suitable for use, especially if you're interested in a Scottish theme; but we'll leave this investigation here, if you'd like to Contact Us with further information then we'd love to know more.