Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

The Old Bailey Bridge

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE OLD BAILEY BRIDGE (R8x40) 3C (4C set) Eric Finley North Ayrshire 50th Anniversary

1- 8 1s+2s+3s set and link for 3, set up/down and change places RH with opposite person
9-16 2s dance RSh reels of 3 (Lady with 1s at top and Man with 3s), 1s cast to 2nd place and 2s dance up to top (2s on opposite sides)
17-24 2s+1s+3s set and link for 3, set up/down and change places RH with opposite person
25-32 1s dance RSh reels of 3 across (Lady with 2s at top and Man with 3s), 2s cast to 2nd place and 1s dance up to top (1s and 2s on opposite sides)
33-40 2s followed by 1s cross down between 3s and cast up own sides, 2s dance into centre and loop into 1st place facing out, 2s+1s turn on sides

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Instruction Videos

The Old Bailey Bridge - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge developed by the British during World War II for military use.

Designed by Sir Donald Coleman Bailey, OBE (1901-1985), a civil servant in the British War Office, who tinkered with model bridges as a hobby, Bailey drew an original proposal for the bridge on the back of an envelope in 1940 and was later knighted for his invention.

It was developed in 1940-1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and US military engineering units. A Bailey bridge has the advantages of requiring no special tools or heavy equipment to assemble. The wood and steel bridge elements were small and light enough to be carried in trucks and lifted into place by hand, without the use of a crane. The bridges were strong enough to carry tanks.

The modular design allowed engineers to build each bridge to be as long and as strong as needed, doubling or tripling the supportive side panels, or the roadbed sections. Bailey bridges continue to be used extensively in civil engineering construction projects and to provide temporary crossings for pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Bailey Bridge - Information Video

Old Bailey Bridge
Old Bailey Bridge Across The River Orchy, Scotland - (100 Foot Long)


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Text from this original Bailey Bridge article on Wikipedia.
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