The Chester Hornpipe
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
The Chester Hornpipe A thirty-two bar Hornpipe for four couples in a longwise set. Devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 13.1- 4 First and second ladies set and turn with the right hand, first and second man do the same, third and fourth couples also set and turn on the sides.
5- 8 Second and third ladies set and turn with the left hand, second and third man do the same.
9-16 Reels of four on the sides of the set.
17-18 All set.
19-20 First and second couples right hands across in a wheel half way, third and fourth couples do the same.
21-22 Second and third couples cross giving left hand, whilst first and fourth couple dance left hands across in a wheel half way.
23-24 All join hand on the sides and set.
25-32 Eight hands round to the left in a circle and back to the right. Finish in the order 2, 4, 1, 3.
17-20 First and second couples right hands across in a wheel half way, third and fourth couples do
Repeat with new top couple. Recommended tune: The Chester Hornpipe Editor's note to the 2023 edition Bars 17-20 have been modified to add an additional set for all couples, as right hands across in 4 bars is very slow, especially when followed by left hands across in 2 bars. The original instructions were: the same.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 13, by John W Mitchell, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell; instructions reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).
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