Astley's Hornpipe

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.

It was evidently a popular tune of 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.

• Astley on Wikipedia
• Burning Bright.
• The People Play
• The Circus in America
• History UK
• The First Footguards
• Circushistory.org