The Silver Glen
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE SILVER GLEN (S4x32) 4C set Barry Priddey Fairy Bridge Book1- 8 All cross RH and set, 1s and 3s turn 2H, open out to face down and turn next couple (pass between them and end with 2s and 4s facing out)
9-16 1s +2s and 3s+4s dance double Fig of 8
17-24 1s lead down the middle in Allemande hold followed by 2s, 3s and 4s, cross over at bottom and dance up to original places
25-32 1s cross RH, cast 1 place, cross LH and cast to bottom
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Dance Information
The Silver Glen lies approximately 1 km to the east of the town of Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, and takes its name from the silver that was mined there in the early 18th century.A narrow valley located about 10 kilometre east of Alva in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, derives its name from a rich native silver deposit discovered in the early 18th century.
This find, the most significant of its kind ever in the British Isles, emerged just as the 1715 Jacobite rising began. The landowner, Sir John Erskine, departed to join the rebellion, entrusting operations to his wife. Around 40 tonnes of silver ore were extracted, concealed in barrels around Alva House's grounds, and some of the highest-grade ore was smelted and hidden beneath the house's floorboards.
After the uprising failed, the mine was deliberately filled in, but its location came to the attention of government authorities via a former employee. Renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton analysed samples and confirmed their richness. Sir John later received a pardon contingent on disclosing the mine's location and surrendering a tenth of its profits; mining then resumed and the remaining ore was removed. In 1759, a cobalt-bearing vein was discovered, giving the mine a brief resurgence before depleting.
Remnants of the mine workings are still visible today, though many are secured with locked access by the Woodland Trust due to the presence of open shafts and safety concerns.
Very little silver remains on the surface, as collectors have extensively worked over the spoil heaps. However, a few notable specimens of crystallised, dendritic silver were uncovered during the 1980s.
The nearby workings at Carnaughton Glen, located above the Alva golf course, often get confused with those in Silver Glen. These were exploratory trial mines from the 1770s and yielded no significant ore. At least one shaft exists there and it is water-filled, making casual exploration unsafe.
Silver Glen
This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources.
Text from this original Silver Glen article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Richard Webb under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.
Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'The Silver Glen' page