Roger de Coverley

Roger de (or of) Coverley (also Sir Roger de Coverley or ...Coverly) is the name of an English country dance and a Scottish country dance (also known as The Haymakers). An early version was published in The Dancing Master, 9th edition (1695). The Virginia Reel is a North American adaptation.

The dance Roger of Coverly probably originated in Northern England; An early version was published in The Dancing Master, 9th edition (1695). The tune is said to derive its name from the Calverley family, who hailed from Calverley, Yorkshire. A manuscript in the British Museum called The First and Second division Violin, which is attributed to John Eccles, 1705, describes the tune as "Roger of Coverly the true Cheisere way." Alternatively Roger refers to Royalists in the English Civil War and that ‘Coverly’ was a corruption of ‘Cavalier’ The Virginia reel is a North American adaptation.

Sir Roger de Coverley was also the name of a fictional character in The Spectator (1711), created by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. An English squire of Queen Anne's reign. Sir Roger exemplified the values of an old country gentleman. He was portrayed as lovable but somewhat ridiculous ('rather beloved than esteemed') (Spectator no. 2), making his Tory politics seem harmless but silly. He was said to be the grandson of the man who invented the dance.