Berkhamsted Castle

The Berkhamsted Castle Fête Quadrille is a piece composed for piano by W.H. Strickland. It is dedicated to General John Finch, son of the Earl of Aylesford and a churchwarden of St Peter’s Church, who resided at Berkhamsted Place. The composition date is uncertain, but we know that General finch died in 1861.

A quadrille is a type of square dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century and typically consists of a sequence of four to six dances.

In the 1850s, the Berkhamsted Mechanics’ Institute put on an annual Mechanics’ Fête in the castle ruins, with popular entertainments and games.

Special thanks to Janice Boakes and the BLHMS for providing this information,