Frederick Hill’s Book of Quadrilles & Country Dances Etc.Etc.

The Hill MS is possibly one of the most important surviving manuscripts about Scottish Traditional Dance. It dates from 1841 and was compiled by Frederick Hill of Alford. We know very little about Frederick Hill other than that he was born in Hammersmith in London, was a Tailor and Clothier by trade and that he settled in Clatt in Aberdeenshire when aged about 25, subsequently moving to Alford not far from Clatt. The original notebook is possibly his aide-memoire recording the instructions for the dances he had been taught (probably by itinerant dancing masters). It is interesting in that it includes Quadrilles, Country Dances and High or Step Dances, and is the source of several dances published by the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.

The book comprises of 40 pages of scanned images of the original notebook.