Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

St John's Of Abbeydale

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

ST JOHN'S OF ABBEYDALE (R8x32) 3C (4C set) Ken Jones Sheaf Book

1- 8 1s+2s dance ½ R&L, 1s dance ½ Fig of 8 round 2s (crossing up)
9-16 1s dance ½ Fig of 8 round 3s (crossing down) and 1s+3s dance ½ R&L
17-24 1L followed by partner casts up to top and crosses to 1st place opposite sides, 1s+2s+3s set, ½ turn RH
25-32 1s+2s dance Poussette. 213

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


Dance Information

This reel, St John's Of Abbeydale, was first published in "The Sheaf Book Of Scottish Country Dances" - 40 Years of Dance from RSCDS Sheffield Branch, 1955-1995.

The Sheffield Branch of the RSCDS regularly hold social dances in the Church Hall of St John's of Abbeydale.


Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle.

John the Baptist was a Roman born Judaean mission preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early 1st century AD. He is also known as John the Forerunner in Christianity, John the Immerser in some Baptist Christian traditions, and Prophet Yahya in Islam. He is sometimes alternatively referred to as John the Baptiser.

John the Apostle or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee and Salome. His brother James was another of the Twelve Apostles. The Church Fathers identify him as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder, and the Beloved Disciple, and testify that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes, although modern scholars are divided on the veracity of these claims.

John The Baptist
"St John The Baptist In The Desert" Titian (1490-1576), Oil On Canvas, c. 1542

John The Apostle
"The Apostle Saint John Evangelista", Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Oil On Canvas, c. 1611


Published in The McGhie Scottish Country Dance Sheets, Collection 1, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Lewis N Derrick.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original John The Baptist article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original John The Apostle article on Wikipedia.
Upper image copyright Titian, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Lower image copyright Peter Paul Rubens, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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