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Dance The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh 1588

Strathspey · 32 bars · 3 couples · Longwise - 4   (Progression: 213)

Devised by
Alec Hay
Intensity
844 888 884 888 = 87% (1 turn), 66% (whole dance)
Formations
Steps
  • Strathspey setting, Strathspey travel
Published in
Recommended Music
Extra Info
The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh

In 1829 John Britton wrote: “A few hundred yards up the river a very splendid bridge is in the course of erection to connect its opposite banks. It is entirely the work of a few spirited individuals, who look for remuneration in the expected extension of the town in that direction. The bridge is from a design by Mr Telford. It is to consist of four arches – the arches supporting the foot pavements being distinct from and flatter than the arch of the road-way. The parapet wall of the middle arch is to be one hundred feet above the bed of the river. The view from it will be strikingly picturesque.”

And so it was, and is.

The river is Edinburgh’s Water of Leith which begins as a small burn in the nearby Pentland Hills and finishes in the Firth of Forth at Leith. Short and small as it may be, at one time it provided water power for some seventy mills along its banks, mills chiefly for the grinding of wheat and snuff. From Juniper Green and Colinton to Slateford and Saughton, Roseburn, Coltbridge, Bells Mills and Belford Bridge, the Water of Leith ultimately nears Edinburgh at Dean Village, an enchanting cluster of houses and old mills in a deep, leafy chasm below the city.

Lord Provost Learmonth was the “spirited” owner of the land to the north of the Water of Leith, the Dean estate, and he was interested in the development of the New Town in that direction. Thus, a bridge was necessary to his plans. With his own funds and more provided by the Cramond Bridge trustees, the Dean Bridge was begun in 1829 and opened to traffic at the end of 1831.

The engineer for the bridge was Thomas Telford (1757–1834). Born in Westerkirk in Dumfries-shire, the son of an Eskdale shepherd, Telford became one of Britain’s great civil engineers and he lavished his talents upon his native land. His highways – some nine hundred miles of them through the Highlands – earned him the title of the “Colossus of Roads”. His bridges span the Tay, the Spey, and the Clyde. His harbours still accommodate ships and fishing vessels from Wick to Nairn, to Aberdeen and Dundee. His great Caledonian Canal permitted water travel from Inverness through the Great Glen and Loch Ness to Fort William on Loch Linnhe, making the hazardous trip around Cape Wrath unnecessary. Today his Dean Bridge still carries its heavy load of traffic between the city and the suburbs. When Telford died he was buried in a place of honour in Westminster Abbey.

The actual design for Dean Bridge was by Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840), a portrait and landscape painter. It was Nasmyth who painted the by now world-famous portrait of Robert Burns.

The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh 3/4L · S32
1–
1c+2c S&Link ; 1c+3c S&Link. (to 2,3,1)
9–
2c+3c+1c advance {1}and retire {1} | turn BH ½ and remain in the middle: All set to P | All swivel R to dance out to opposite sides (2x,3x,1x), ready for
17–
Two hands of G-Chain (2c cross to start) to (1x,2,3) ; 1c+2c S&Link, 1c finish BtoB in the middle facing opposite side as for DTr (no hands).
25–
All advance (1c to sideline, 2c+3c meet P) {1}, retire {1} | all advance and swivel R (1c to 2plx, 2c+3c into BtoB in the middle) ; All A{1} & R{1} again | 1c cross RH while{2} 2c+3c advance to sideline and swivel R (2,1,3).

note: For [25–28] the original texts say no hands, and pass; in the Book 23 version hands are often held, steps are very small

The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh 3/4L · S32
1-8
1s+2s Set+Link, 1s+3s Set+Link
9-16
2s+3s+1s advance for 1 step & retire, 1/2 turn 2H into centre, set & twirl out to opposite sides
17-24
2s+3s+1s dance Grand Chain for 2 hands (2s in 1st pl cross) to end (1)2 3, 1s+2s Set+Link (1s end in double triangle position facing opp sides)
25-26
All Adv+Ret (1 step)
27-28
All advance 1 step & turn right about
29-30
All Adv+Ret (1 step)
31-32
1s cross RH as 2s+3s repeat bars 27-28

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New Scotland Women at Newcastle 2015.

Added on: 2015-02-24 (Truus de Ceuster)
Quality: Demonstration quality

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RSCDS Vienna Branch

Added on: 2020-07-17 (Murrough Landon)
Quality: Demonstration quality

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Edinburgh Scottish Dancers at Newcastle, 2024.

Added on: 2024-02-13 (Murrough Landon)
Quality: Demonstration quality

NameDateOwnerLast changed
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180802 w3 Thursday - St Andrews - Younger Hall 2018-08-02 Martina Mueller-Franz May 15, 2018, 11:04 a.m.
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