Annotation:Walton Abbey

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WALTON ABBEY. AKA – “Waltom Abbey,” “Waltham Abbey.” AKA and see “My Lady's Courant.” English, Country Dance Tune (2/2 time). F Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody appears first in print in Henry Playford’s Dancing Master, second part, 9th edition (1698) and in all subsequent editions of the long-running series until the end, with the 18th edition of 1728. It was also published by John Walsh in the first and subsequent editions of his Complete Country Dancing Master (London, 1718, 1731 & 1754). London musician Thomas Hammersley included it in his 1790 copybook, giving the title as “Devil in the Bush,” with “Walton Abbey” as an alternate title.

Waltham Abbey, Essex, dates from pre-Norman times, having been founded by King Harold Godwinson (Harold II). It was a favorite stopping-place for the gentry who hunted Waltham Forest, and was the last abbey to be dissolved in England, in 1540.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Barlow (The Complete Country Dance Tunes from Playford’s Dancing Master), 1985; No. 391, p. 91. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; p. 139 (appears as “Waltham Abbey”).

Recorded sources:

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