Astley's Hornpipe

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There are probably three tunes in the English repertoire that refer to Philip Astley who was a cavalryman and is credited with starting the first circus in England. Sometimes the name is corrupted to Ashley when it appears in hand written manuscripts.

Astley's Hornpipe was evidently a popular tune in its day as it appears in many musicians' manuscript books including John Clare, George Spencer, James Winder, William Mittell, John Miller and also in a Frank Kidson owned manuscript.


The other tunes that bear his name are Astley's Ride and Astley's Flag


Astley's Circus is well documented as this list of links indicates.