The Tower Of London
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE TOWER OF LONDON (S4x32) Sq.Set Murrough Landon, 20181- 8 1s+3s set advancing, ½ turn opposite dancer 2H to finish on sides (Men have changed places); 2s+4s repeat
9-12 All Set with 'new partner', pull back LSh and chase anticlockwise 1 place round
13-16 All set and link, Ladies casting to corner to their left while Men finish BtoB in centre facing Ladies (1M facing 2L at corner between 1st/2nd place)
17-20 All ½ turn 2H, Men dance clockwise 1 place to next corner while Ladies dance anticlockwise in centre to face original partner
21-24 Repeat 17-20 from new positions to end facing dancer as at bar 17 (1M facing 2L) now 1 place round anticlockwise
25-28 All ½ turn 2H, Ladies dance to next corner clockwise round while Men dance in, pull back RSh to join RH with partner. 1234
29-32 All dance Right Hands Joined ¼ clockwise round and all turn partner ¾ RH to form square set again. 4123
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
The Tower Of London (4x32S) 32 bar strathspey for four couples in a square set, Murrough Landon, 2018.
1-4 1st and 3rd couples set advancing, then half turn the opposite person with both hands opening out, tourbillon style, so the women are back in their original places but the men have changed places.
5-8 2nd and 4th couples repeat bars 1-4.
9-12 All set and pull left shoulder back to cast in tandem one place anticlockwise. The men are now in places 4,1,2,3 and the women 2,3,4,1.
13-16 All dance set and link. The men end back to back on the diagonals facing out to the women who end at the corners of the square facing in. 1st man is facing out to 2nd woman in the corner between 1st and 2nd places.
17-20 All half turn with both hands. The men then dance on to the next corner clockwise while the women dance half way round the inner square anticlockwise, making a quarter turn angle at the corner. They end facing out to their partner with 1st couple now at the corner between 2nd and 3rd places.
21-24 All repeat bars 17-20 from new places to end facing the same person as at bar 17 but now progressed one corner position anticlockwise from where they started.
25-28 All turn with both hands opening out to the next side. The women then chase one place clockwise while the men curve to their right into the centre and end taking right hands with their partner in the original order 1,2,3,4 facing clockwise, with the men on the inside.
29-32 All lead on one place clockwise then turn their partner three quarters with the right hand to end in the order 4,1,2,3.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon CC BY-SA December 2018)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Instruction Videos
The Tower Of London - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
The figure in bars 17-24 is supposed to evoke the central "White Tower" part of the Tower of London with a small tower at each corner all surrounded by an outer wall. The two handed turns represent the towers while the intervening inner and outer chases are the walls. Three of the four towers are square - only the one at the north-east corner (between 1st and 2nd places) is round. So those concerned with architectural exactitude can make their turns at the other corners as square as possible, for example making angles at the half bar points. Those keen on symbolism may see sceptres and orbs or loops of a crown in bars 1-8 and 9-12. Bars 25-32 were inspired by the end of Vana Tallinn by Vladimir Garbuzov.Recommended Music: A Glint of Gold (Drummond Cook).
Suitable recording: A Glint of Gold (Colin Dewar and his SDB: A' the best fae Banffshire).
(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA 2018)
The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite.
The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray twins), although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence.
As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
The Tower Of London
Published in The Tower Of London, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Tower Of London article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright (cropped) Christine Matthews under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.
Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'The Tower Of London' page