Posted on by Erin Stone Taylor

13 January 1857 – Annual Ball at the Black Boy

From The Bicester Herald, Bicester, Oxfordshire, England, 17 Jan 1857, page 8

Transcription

THE ANNUAL BALL AT THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS, AT THE BLACK BOY INN, BICESTER took place on the evening of Tuesday last [13 Jan 1857], when between 60 and 70 ladies and gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood, enjoyed the festive dance.  The arrangments, and the superior way in which they were carried out, gave general satisfaction.  The room was decorated with taste, and had a pleasing effect.  Bell's Leamington Quadrille Band acquitted itself to the full satisfaction of the company.  The refreshments, supplied by Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, were all that could be desired, and displayed their ability as purveyors.  Dancing commenced at nine, and was kept up with spirit for some hours.  The meeting was of the most agreeable character, and hopes were expressed that the anticipated one for 1858 might be no less so.

Notes

The ball occurred in the second-floor assembly rooms of the Black Boy Inn. The Black Boy seems to have been a popular venue for meetings, dinners, and other gatherings in Bicester. My 3rd great-uncle, John Reynolds (1823–1878), and wife, Sarah Claridge Reynolds (1798–1873), hosted these events and ran their pub and butcher shop downstairs.

My ancestor, Thomas Reynolds (1830–1894), was John’s younger brother. I have no doubt that Thomas, who was then twenty-seven years old and unmarried, attended this ball. The following June, he boarded a ship for America.

Ball gowns from Peterson’s Magazine, Les Modes Parisiennes, January 1857 (the same month as the ball) From LAPL, found on Pinterest

The word “ball” conjures visions of exquisite gowns, tuxedos, and waltzing in a grand ballroom. But this would have been an event for the commoners of Bicester—what we might call a “dance.”

"All ... social classes tended to refer to the dances they held as balls. By the mid-[19th] century, the majority of the dances performed in a typical ball were waltzes, quadrilles, polkas, galops, and schottisches with a few country dances and other older dances included."

https://dalestunes.org.uk/quadrille-bands-and-string-bands/

The Leamington Quadrille Band, a popular traveling band mentioned in newspapers from the mid-1820s to the late-1850s, provided the music.

“The size and composition of quadrille bands varied … tended to have three or four members and to be led by a fiddle player.”

https://dalestunes.org.uk/quadrille-bands-and-string-bands/

Sources