Beau Nash in the Ballroom

In 1703 the year before Beau Nash came to Bath Oliver Goldsmith tells us that "Queen Anne had been obliged to divert herself, in 1703, with a fiddle and a hautboy, and with country dances on the bowling-green."

Even after Nash took charge the rules of the Assemblies were very ill-defined. As Goldsmith says "If the company liked each other, they danced till morning, if any person lost at cards, he insisted on
continuing the game till luck should turn."

Beau Nash 1750

It was against this background that Nash posted his "RULES to be observed at BATH."

1. THAT a visit of ceremony at first coming and another at going away, are all that
are expected or desired, by ladies of quality and fashion,-- except impertinents.
2. That ladies coming to the ball appoint a time for their footmen coming to wait on
them home, to prevent disturbance and inconveniencies to themselves and others
3. That gentlemen of fashion never appearing in a morning before the ladies in gowns
and caps, show breeding and respect.
4. That no person take it ill that any one goes to another's play, or breakfast, and not
theirs,-- except captious by nature.
5. That no gentleman give his ticket for the balls, to any but gentlewomen.-- N.B.
Unless he has none of his acquaintance.
6. That gentlemen crowding before the ladies at the ball, show ill manners, and that
none do so for the future,-- except such as respect nobody but themselves.
7. That no gentleman or lady takes it ill that another dances before them;-- except
such as have no pretence to dance at all.
8. That the elder ladies and children be content with a second bench at the ball, as
being past or not come to perfection.
9. That the younger ladies take notice how many eyes observe them. N.B. This does
not extend to the Have-at-alls.
10. That all whisperers of lies and scandal, be taken for their authors.
11. That all repeaters of such lies, and scandal, be shunned by all company,-- except
such as have been guilty of the same crime.
N.B. Several men of no character, old women and young ones, of questioned
reputation, are great authors of lies in these places, being of the sect of levellers

The balls were to begin at six and to end at eleven. Each ball was opened with a minuet, danced by the two people judged to be of the highest rank present. When the minuet concluded, the lady was to return to her seat, and Nash would bring the gentleman a new partner. This continued until every gentleman had danced with two ladies a process that usually occupied two hours. At
eight, the country dances began, ladies forming lines in order of their rank. About nine o'clock a short interval was allowed for rest before the country dancing continued. At 11O'clock precisely Nash would order the musicians to stop playing, by lifting up his finger. At the end of the ball, some time was allowed for people to rest and cool down before the ladies were handed into sedan chairs.

Although much of what happened during balls was determined by rank Goldsmith tells us that Nash would impose limits on the behaviour of superiors towards their inferiors in status.

"When he observed any ladies so extremely delicate and proud of a pedigree, as to only touch the back of an inferior's hand in the dance, he always called to order, and desired them to leave the room, or behave with common decency, and when any Ladies and Gentlemen drew off, after they had gone down a dance, without standing up till the dance was finished, he made up to them, and after asking whether they had done dancing, told them, they should dance no more unless they stood up for the rest; and on these occasions he always was as good as his word."

In a letter to the Countess of Suffolk in 1734 Lord Chesterfield gives us a glimpse of Beau Nash at a grand ball thrown to mark the birthday of George II on the 30th October.

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

Chesterfield describes Nash as wearing "his gold laced clothes" and tells us that "he looked so fine, that, standing by chance in the middle of the dancers, he was taken by many at a distance for a gilded garland"

Mr I Walkers Fancy 1808

Mr I Walker's Fancy taken from "Goulding’s Select Collection of Twelve Favorite Country Dances for the year 1808" Published by Goulding, Phipps and D’Almaine.

At the time of publication Goulding, Phipps, & D’Almaine also known as Goulding & Co were based at 124 New Bond street and were official music sellers to the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Lanstram wake a dance from the 1730s

Taken from "Twenty-Four Dances for the year 1738 with proper tunes Figures or Directions for each Dance." published by Benjamin Cooke in 1738.

Benjamin Cooke (? - 1743) was an organist, music publisher and music seller based at the Golden Harp in New Street, Covent Garden, from 1726 to 1743. Cooke had, in 1723, married the widow of John Jones, who had operated as an instrument maker and music publisher at the Golden Harp until 1720.

His second wife, Elizabeth Wayet, the sister-in-law of Lancelot (Capability) Brown, gave birth to the composer Benjamin Cooke(1734 - 1793).

In addition to collections of dance music, Cooke's production included a seminal edition of the collected works of Arcangelo Corelli in study scores comprising all five books of sonatas and the twelve concerti grossi. Indeed, Cooke was, in many ways, a pioneering music publisher with his insistence on sourcing music from composers or their agents rather than other publishers' material.

The Foolscap and Bells

Taken from:

"Le Sylphe. An elegant collection of twenty-four country dances, the figures by Mr Wilson, for the year 1814, adapted for the German flute, violin, flageolet or oboe."

Of the Step called Jéte

ELEMENTS OF THE ART OF DANCING; WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL FIGURES IN THE QUADRILLE. By ALEXANDER STRATHY TEACHER OF DANCING. EDINBURGH: Published in 1822.

"Of the Step called Jéte, performed in the Fifth Position.

THIS step is derived from the Assemblé, and, to perform it, follow the same rule as for the Assemblé in the fifth position.

The body being placed as directed for the deportment, the feet in the fifth position, balance the body entirely on the leg that is before, which will disengage the foot that is behind; bend on the leg that is before, and at same time raise the foot that is behind on the point, which will make the knee fold a little; keep the knee well turned outward; extend it by sliding the foot on the point, just to the second position; then raise yourself on the foot you stand upon, and at the same time slide the other foot from the second position, into the fifth position before; but, instead of falling on both feet, as in the Assemblé, fall entirely on the foot that is before, and at the same moment raise the foot that is behind, by folding the knee to the side, the point of the foot turned directly down, and kept near the floor, but without touching it. Keep the knees turned to the side, in order to preserve the outward position.

The foot that is behind being now disengaged, slide it upon the point to the second position, bending at same time on the other leg, in order to repeat the step with the other foot, and so on alternately.
In order to perform this step behind, observe the same rule as to perform it before. Balance the body entirely on the leg that is behind, which will disengage the foot that is before; bend on the leg that is behind, and at the same time raise the foot that is before to the point; slide it to the second position, gradually extending the knee and instep, as you bend on the other leg; then raise yourself on the point of the foot you rest on, and at the same time slide the other foot from the second position into the fifth position behind; fall upon it, raising at the same moment the foot that is before, the point turned down, and the foot kept near the leg that is behind, the knees well turned outward.

The foot that is before being now disengaged, slide it on the point to the second position, bending at the same time on the other leg, in order to do the same step with the other foot, and so on alternately.”

Bath fashions 1808

Morning Walking Dresses

Evening Dresses

The principal dress styles of this period were:

The high-necked dress made of one piece, of transparent material, with a high waist, and usually without a train. Since it had a high neck, fill-ins were not necessary. A fill-in was worn with a dress with a low-rounded decolletage. One style of fill-in worn with this type of dress was bodice de l'enfant, made with a drawstring around the neck to decrease the size of the large opening.

The dress with a square decolletage was worn with a fill-in during the daytime and without in the evening.

The chemise robe was closed with buttons all the way down the front.

The stomacher-front gown might have a train.

The tunic dress was intended mainly for evening wear. As its name implies, it consisted of a tunic hung over the dress but not falling to the entire length of the dress.

The hoop dress of the 1790s continued to be worn but mainly for court occasions.

At this time, the term mantle was used to describe any loose-fitting, shaped outer garment similar to a cape.

A Pelisse

A pelisse was originally a short fur-lined or fur-trimmed jacket that was usually worn hanging loose over the left shoulder of hussar light cavalry soldiers, but by this time, when military clothing was often used as inspiration for fashionable ladies' garments, the term was applied to a woman's long, fitted coat with set-in sleeves and the fashionable Empire waist. Although initially, these Regency-era pelisses copied the Hussars' fur and braid, they soon lost these initial associations and, in fact, were often made entirely of silk and without fur at all. They did, however, tend to retain traces of their military inspiration with frog fastenings and braid trim.

Sarsnet is a fine soft silk fabric formerly from Italy.

Short Stays

Sarsnet

A habit shirt is a type of shirt worn by women as part of a riding habit.

Tuckers were lace pieces fitted over the bodice and the origin of the phrase best bib and tucker.

By 1800 women were beginning to wear their hair shorter. 

Wigs might still be seen, but they were less widely worn after the introduction of the Hair Powder Tax in 1795.

The Queen's Birthday Ball in Bath 1765

The Bath Chronicle of 24th January 1765 reported:

"On Friday last [18th January] being the Celebration of the Queen's Birthday"

Queen Charlotte

Since Queen Charlotte was born on the 19th May this must have been the date set for the official birthday celebrations a practice introduced in the reign of George III's grandfather George II. In 1765, Charlotte was 21.

The Chronicle's account continues:

"the same was observed here with the greatest Marks of Loyalty and Rejoicing; the Morning was ushered in with ringing at One o'Clock at Noon the Guns at Mr Simpsons were fired off, at night the was a subscription ball in his rooms by the order of the Master of the Ceremonies,"

Samuel Derrick

At this time, the Master of Ceremonies was the notorious Irish writer Samuel Derrick. The Chronicle's account continues.

"........ the appearance of the company was more splendid than was ever known: there were near fifty minuets danced, and it is thought there were near six hundred people present; who were all dressed with a brilliancy [sic] and elegance that seemed peculiarly adapted to the night."

It is worth noting that Simpson's rooms were 50 feet in length; 36 feet in breadth and feet 30 in height so 600 people would have had 3 square feet each if they were all in the ballroom and this ignores the additional space required for the numerous servants and the musicians and the furniture including benches to allow people to sit and watch. [1]

It seems that the evening did not go off entirely smoothly as the Chronicle goes on to tell us that:

"The Master of the Ceremonies at Bath finds himself under the necessity to republish the following rules.

1. That no Gentleman present himself  for a minuet, except in full dress; or at least in a full dress French frock suit. Regimentals are an exception, being every where a proper dress.

2, That no Lady can dance minuets, without a full dress hoop and lappet head.

3. That no Lady can dance country dances with A HOOP OF ANY KIND, and no lady that attempts it can be angry at being desired to sit down, her standing up being against rule:"

Bearing in mind the restricted space and the large numbers the re-iteration of and emphasis in this rule suggest that Derrick and his assistance must have faced some very awkward situations on the night.

He goes on to point out to Ladies that:

"there is a retirement, always ready, and a maid-servant to assist those that chuse [sic] to put off their hoops."

The last rule is a little harder to understand.

"4, Gentlemen in LEATHER-BREECHES must undergo the same fate with the country dancers hoops; there being no servant to assist them."

1. The New Bath Guide, or, Useful pocket companion ... To which is added, a Sketch of the life, character &c. of the late Richard Nash, etc.] Bath: C. Pope, [1765?]