Maiden Lane: A Song History

← Back to Browse By Song

"Maiden Lane" first appeared in 1651, spelled "Mayden Lane," in the opening edition of John Playford's The English Dancing Master.[1][2] Robert Keller's compendium of the Playford dance books finds it in every edition through the tenth,[1] which came out in 1698.[2] The older spelling lasted through the fourth edition, after which the books print it as "Maiden-Lane" or "Maiden Lane."[1] The Traditional Tune Archive describes it as a three-strain tune in cut time, with the first and last strains in A major and the middle strain in B minor.[3]

Etching of a large open square with a church portico, arcaded houses and carriages

Wenceslaus Hollar, Piazza in Covent Garden, etching, about 1647. The Covent Garden piazza, beside London's Maiden Lane, a few years before the tune was printed; it has no connection to the tune.

The Traditional Tune Archive ties the title to the Maiden Lane beside Covent Garden in London.[3] That street dates from 1631 and was being called Maiden Lane by 1636, although the Survey of London calls the origin of the name unknown; later residents included Voltaire and the painter J. M. W. Turner, who was born there in 1775.[4] The Map of Early Modern London counts up to four Maiden Lanes in the city of that period, however, so the sources consulted here do not settle which one the dance title had in mind.[5]

Cecil Sharp printed the tune in Set 5 of his Country Dance Tunes, a Novello series issued between 1909 and 1922.[6] Modern recordings noted by the Traditional Tune Archive include those by Bare Necessities (1987), Hesperus (2003) and Brass Monkey (2004).[3] On the dulcimer, it turns up in Mark Gilston's English Country Dance Tunes, Volume 1, where his arrangement sits next to such tunes as Nonesuch, Parson's Farewell and Gathering Peascods.[7]

Our book that contains the song "Maiden Lane"

Sources

  1. Country Dance and Song Society: "The Dancing Master, 1651–1728: Maiden Lane" (Robert M. Keller).
  2. Country Dance and Song Society: "The Dancing Master, 1651–1728: Bibliography".
  3. Traditional Tune Archive: "Annotation: Maiden Lane".
  4. British History Online: "Survey of London, Volume 36, Covent Garden: Henrietta Street and Maiden Lane Area".
  5. The Map of Early Modern London: "Maiden Lane (Wood Street)".
  6. IMSLP: "Country Dance Tunes (Sharp, Cecil)".
  7. Mark Gilston: "English Country Dance Tunes, Volume 1".
  8. Image: Wenceslaus Hollar, Piazza in Covent Garden, etching, about 1647. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

← Back to Browse By Song