Cecil Sharp, 1912
4 couples in a square
Recording: hunsdon_house-bnah5-05.mp3.zip
hunsdon_house--014.mp3.zip

Part I 
Al 1-2 Head couples forward a double to meet while side couples face partner and 
       fall back a double.
   3-4 Taking right hands with opposites, head couples fall back to nearest side place
       while side couples meet opposites in head places. 
A2 1-4 New heads meet and fall back to original side places while new sides face and 
       fall back, then meet original partners in head places. {The movement of Al and 
       2 is called "grand square"}
Bl 1-4 Head couples forward a double to meet and turn single to the right,
   5-6 Head men change places.
   7-8 Head women change places.
   9-16 Side couples repeat B1 1-8.
B2 1-16 Repeat Bl to places.

Part II
AA As in Part I above.
Bl 1-4 Head couples meet, turn around {to right} to stand back to back. 
   5-8 Circle four-hands clockwise half-way facing out, then lead out into opposite place.
   9-16 Side couples repeat B1 1-8.
B2 1-16 Repeat Bl ending in original place.

Part III
AA As in Part I above.
Bl 1-2 Head couples forward a double to meet, then face partners.
   3-4 Head couples slow set and honor partners right.
   5-8 Head couples face opposite: right-and-left, two changes, beginning with opposite.
   9-16 Side couples repeat B1 1-8.
B2 1-16 Repeat Bl, except that men slow set and honor opposite women, partners 
        face for right-and-left.
{This is a slow, dignified dance.}

NOTES The whole dance proceeds at a measured pace, especially appreciated in Part II, where each short move takes exactly four steps. This dance is quite simple and straightforward. The repeating grand square, along with the music, gives the dance a rather formal or regal air. It is easy for dancers at all levels of ability to enjoy, the only challenge being to keep the dance up and moving and not let it deteriorate into plodding or marching!

See an animation of this dance SvgLogoSmall.png.

video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsnr37zfN4w

HUNSDON HOUSE
This dance is often pointed out as the earliest version of the “grand square.”

The Hunsdon manor in the county of Hertford was the residence of Henry Carey, fourth Lord Hunsdon, a prominent Royalist supporter in the Civil War who died three years after this dance first appeared in The English Dancing Master. According to Martha Curti, Hunsdon provided a refuge from the plague for Henry VIII, whose daughters Mary and Elizabeth lived there as children. Queen Elizabeth gave the manor to Henry Carey, the brother of her mother, Anne Bolyn, and created him Baron Hunsdon in 1559.