Hyde Park

Source: Playford (1651), TPB, LoD v1 & v2.
Cecil Sharp, 1913
Setting: A square set of four couples.
Version: 1.0

A   1- 4  First and third couples forward and back a double,
    5- 8  Second and fourth couples the same.
    9-10  First and third men take partners with both hands, slip into
            center to meet,
   11-16  First man and third woman join both hands, slip out between
            the fourth couple, and cast to place. Third man and first
            woman do likewise at the same time.
   17-24  Second and fourth couples repeat figure in 9-16.
B   1- 8  Repeat bars 1-8 above.
    9-10  Second and fourth couples take both hands with their partner,
            turn halfway, and make an arch,
   11-16  First and third couple face their partner, pass by the right
            shoulder to go outside the set, around the arches, go under
            the arches, and return to place, ending improper.
   17-18  First and third couples take both hands with their partner,
            turn halfway, and make an arch (these couples are now
            proper again),
   19-24  Second and fourth couples do figure in bars 11-16, ending
            proper.
C   1- 8  Repeat bars 1-8 above.
    9-16  Men pass in front of their partners, behind the next woman,
            and so on, weaving counter-clockwise around the the circle
            back to place.
   17-24  Women weave the circle clockwise, passing in front of their
            partner to start.

Hyde Park

Part I
A  1-4 Head couples forward a double to meet and fall back a double.
   5-8 Side couples the same.
BI 1-2 Head men face partners, balance back and forward, then take both hands.
   3-4 Head couples slip sideways to middle,
   5-8 Men face opposites, take both hands, and slip out between side couples,
       and cast back to place.
B2 1-8 Repeat BI, side couples slipping in, &c.

Part II
A  1-8 As in Part I above.
B1 1-2 Side men face partners, take right hands, change places, then make an arch, 
       right hands.
   3-8 Head men face partners, pass right shoulder, go outside side couples and 
       under arches to head places, improper.
B2 1-2 Movement repeated, heads changing and making arches.
   3-8 Side couples face partners, pass right shoulder, go outside, under arches, &.
   
Part III
A  1-8 As in Part I above.
B1 1-8 Men pass in front of partners, behind next women, weaving in and out
       around the set to places, skipping.
B2 1-8 Women repeat BI, Passing in front of partners to start.

Discussion:

This dance is done in a square set; the couple closest to the head of the hall is the first couple, and the other couples are numbered clockwise from the first. Playford's instructions leave out the phrasing within the 8-bar phrases; the subdivisions above

The name in the original is Hide-Park which The Playford Ball notes was also the name of a play written by Shirley in 1637. Sharp modernized the name. video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjHn1qviDkU
HYDE PARK
Hyde Park was a fashionable spot for drives and promenades. An old ballad describes the park, beginning “Of all parts of England Hide Park hath the name, for coaches and horses, and persons of fame.”