Annotation:Mrs. Crawfurd of Donside

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MRS. CRAWFORD/CRAWFURD OF DONSIDE('S REEL). AKA and see "Sir John Shaw Stewart." Scottish, Reel. G Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by fiddler-composer biography:John Riddell of Ayr and first published in his Collection of Scots Reels, Minuets & c. for the Violin (1766, p. 25). The melody was republished by the Gows as "Sir John Shaw Stewart" in First Collection, 1784 (p. 4).

Doonside House in Alloway, Ayr, overlooking the beautiful river Doon and its renowned Old Bridge, was built in the mid-18th century by local resident John Crawford, who acquired the land in public auction. Crawford enhanced the manor in 1754 by hiring William Burnes (poet Robert Burns's father) as gardener for a period of two or three years. Burnes's efforts were rewarded, for a visiting tourist at the time described Doonside as "a pretty dwelling, surrounded with gardens, orchards and parks" [Wilson, Chambers & Hill, The Land of Burns vol. 1, (Glasgow, 1840, p. 18). The house was extensively damaged by fire in 1852 but was remodelled, and was finally demolished in 1961. See also Riddell's "Mrs. Crawford of Doneside's Minuet."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Glen (The Glen Collection of Scottish Dance Music, vol. 1), 1891; p. 18. MacDonald (The Skye Collection), 1887; p. 187.

Recorded sources:

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