Annotation:Marchmont House
X:1 T:Marchmont House M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig S:Gow - 3rd Repository (1806) Z:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:D A|(F/G/A)F D2A | ~d>ed dAG | (F/G/A)F D2f | eEE E2G | (F/G/A) D2A | ~d>ed dAG|FdF Edc | dAF D2 :| |:g|(f/g/a)f d2f| aba afd |(f/d/a)f ~d>ef|eEE E2g | (f/g/a)f dfa | bag fed | (B/c/d)B Afd | AFD D2 :| |: A | FAd FAd | dAF dAF | FAd ~d>ef|eEE E2G | FAd FAd | fed cBA | (B/c/d)B AFd | AFD D2 :| |: f|dfa dfa | afd afd | dfa def | eEE E2f| dfa dfa|bag fed | (B/c/d)B AFB | AFD D2 :|
MARCHMONT HOUSE. AKA and see "Irish Grove (The)," "Lady Crawfurd." Scottish, Jig (6/8 time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. The Earls of Marchmont commissioned a new residence and Marchmont House [1] [2], designed by Thomas Gibson (influenced by Robert Adam), was built to replace nearby Bedbraes Castle in Duns, Berwickshire, in the Borders region. It was built around the year 1754. In the 20th century it was the home of the McEwan family for a time before being sold to Sue Ryder Care for use as a nursing home in the 1980s. It has been sold again to private owners.
John Glen (1891) finds the earliest appearance of this tune in Robert Bremner's 1757 collection, reprinted by Joshua Campbell in his Collection of Newest & Best Reels & Minuets ... (1788). John Riddell of Ayr published the tune in his collection of 1782, albeit under the title "Lady Crawfurd." London music publishers the Thompsons included the tune in a 1788 country dance collection under the title "Irish Grove (The)."
The tune also was entered into the c. 1788 music manuscript collections of flute player Thomas Molyneaux, an ensign in the 6th Regt. stationed at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and, as a generically titled "Quick Step", in the music copybook [3] of John Buttery (1784-1854), a fifer with the 37th Regiment, British army, who served from 1797-1814 and who late in life emigrated to Canada. Multi-instrumentalist John Rook (Waverton, near Wigton, Cumbria, 1840) penned the tune into his large 1840 music manuscript collection as well (as "Marchmont House").