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G.G. Armstrong
George Grey Armstrong (1877–1961) was a noted player, teacher and maker of the Northumbrian smallpipes. He also composed several tunes for the instrument. He lived in Hexham, Northumberland. He learned to play the instrument from the Clough family, and studied pipemaking with John E. Baty. There is a photograph of him with his pipes, from the Cocks collection, at. He taught 36 pupils, including Joe Hutton, Tommy Breckons and Colin Caisley, and passed on his pipemaking skills to William Cocks. Some of his teaching was for Scout troops – the Northumbrian Pipers' Society led a move to introduce the instrument among Scouts in Northumberland between the wars. From the playing of these and other pupils, it is clear that Armstrong must have been not only a fine piper but an excellent teacher. Tommy Breckons recalled learning first from Armstrong, and later from Tom Clough: "Now as to the difference between Tom and George. Tom wouldn't have been much use to a novice piper.... But Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northumbrian Smallpipes
The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from North East England, where they have been an important factor in the local musical culture for more than 250 years. The family of the Duke of Northumberland have had an official piper for over 250 years. The Northumbrian Pipers' Society was founded in 1928, to encourage the playing of the instrument and its music; Although there were so few players at times during the last century that some feared the tradition would die out, there are many players and makers of the instrument nowadays, and the Society has played a large role in this revival. In more recent times the Mayor of Gateshead and the Lord Mayor of Newcastle have both established a tradition of appointing official Northumbrian pipers. In a survey of the bagpipes in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University, the organologist Anthony Baines wrote: "It is perhaps the most civilized of the bagpipes, making no attempt to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. In 2011, it had a population of 13,097. Smaller towns and villages around Hexham include Corbridge, Riding Mill, Stocksfield and Wylam to the east, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb and Bellingham, Northumberland, Bellingham to the north, Allendale, Northumberland, Allendale to the south and Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle to the west. Newcastle upon Tyne is to the east and Carlisle to the west. History Hexham Abbey originated as a monastery founded by Wilfrid in 674. The crypt of the original monastery survives, and incorporates many stones taken from nearby Roman ruins, probably Coria (Corbridge), Corbridge or Hadrian's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on three sides; by the Scottish Borders region to the north, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The fourth side is the North Sea, with a stretch of coastline to the east. A predominantly rural county with a landscape of moorland and farmland, a large area is part of Northumberland National Park. The area has been the site of a number of historic battles with Scotland. Name The name of Northumberland is recorded as ''norð hẏmbra land'' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, meaning "the land north of the Humber". The name of the kingdom of ''Northumbria'' derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the people south of the Humber Estuary. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Clough
Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character in the 1998 American science-fiction disaster movie '' Deep Impact'' * Tom Buchanan, the main antagonist from the 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby'' * Tom Cat, a character from the ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons * Tom Lucitor, a character from the American animated series '' Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' * Tom Natsworthy, from the science fantasy novel '' Mortal Engines'' * Tom Nook, a character in ''Animal Crossing'' video game series * Tom Servo, a robot character from the ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' television series * Tom Sloane, a non-adult character from the animated sitcom ''Daria'' * Talking Tom, the protagonist from the ''Talking Tom & Friends'' franchise * Tom, a character from the '' Deltora Quest'' books by Emily Rodda * Tom, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Hutton (piper)
Joe Hutton (August 16, 1923 – July 17, 1995) was a Northumbrian smallpipe player and fiddler. Life and career Hutton was born in Halton Lea Gate, near Haltwhistle in the west of Northumberland. Like his father, Jake, he was a shepherd, and a musician - he started on the fiddle, but took up the Northumbrian smallpipes after hearing P.J. Liddell and G.G. Armstrong playing at a concert in 1936. He started on a James Reid set from Halton Lea Gate, refurbished by G.G. Armstrong, a noted piper from Hexham, and he took lessons in the instrument from Armstrong. He made rapid progress, and won a competition as a novice, the following year. Armstrong made him a new set of pipes in January 1938, and Joe was photographed, standing at the left, with other competitors at the Bellingham Show piping competition in 1938. He continued to play the fiddle at dances during the war years, but he continued piping, upgrading to a 17-keyed chanter, again by Armstrong, in 1943. In 1950 he began pipin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Breckons
Tommy Breckons (1928–2009) lived all his life on his family's Foundry Farm, Bellingham, central Northumberland. He was a noted player of the Northumbrian smallpipes. Learning Tommy learned at first from G.G. Armstrong, and subsequently taking further lessons for two years from Tom Clough after Armstrong gave up teaching through ill-health. He also learned the Highland pipes - it is rare to master both instruments, with their very different fingering and sound. He was perhaps the last piper to have known the playing of the Cloughs directly. He described Tom Clough's set of exercises, which he said were similar to G.G. Armstrong's. They consisted of scales and arpeggios - the pupil would have to start slowly, and increase speed till mistakes happened. Another group of exercises, based on variation sets, are all found in the four tunes ''Fenwick of Bywell'', ''Jacky Layton'', ''Felton Lonnen'' and ''Oh dear, what can the matter be''. He also gave a description of Tom Clough's me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Alfred Cocks
William Alfred Cocks (1892-1971) was a master clock maker from Ryton, near Newcastle upon Tyne. He had a lifelong interest in the history and culture of the North-east of England, and particularly in the Northumbrian smallpipes and half-long pipes. He assembled a large collection of historic bagpipes, their music, and related materials, which forms the core of the collection now housed at the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum. He was elected to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1920, remaining a member until his death. In 1928, he was one of the earliest members of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society, being elected one of the technical advisers, with responsibility for smallpipes. He became a Vice-President of the Society in 1938. When an exhibition of historic pipes was held in the Black Gate Museum in 1961, most of the exhibits were from Cocks's collection. He was a pipemaker and author: his ''Tutor For The Northumberland Half Long Pipes'' was published by the Oxfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northumbrian Pipers' Society
The Northumbrian Pipers' Society was founded to promote both types of Northumbrian bagpipes – the Northumbrian smallpipes and the half-long pipes, now generally known as the Border pipes. There had been several attempts to encourage the pipes and their music during the 19th century, but no society was formed with this specific aim until the Northumbrian Small Pipes Society in 1893. That society organised a series of competitions, in which Richard Mowat and Henry Clough were both prizewinners. However it was short-lived, dissolving around 1899. Today the society is divided into two branches, the main branch based in Morpeth, and the Cleveland branch based in Sedgefield. The Northumbrian Pipers' Society was founded in 1928 in Newcastle upon Tyne, under the patronage of the Duke of Northumberland. The first President was G. V. B. Charlton, who had been active in encouraging the playing of the smallpipes, and particularly the revival of the half-long pipes. Its policy aim was to enc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Reid (pipemaker)
Robert Reid (1784 – 1837) is widely acknowledged as the creator of the modern form of the Northumbrian Smallpipes. He lived and worked at first in Newcastle upon Tyne, but moved later to the nearby town of North Shields at the mouth of the Tyne, probably in 1802. North Shields was a busy port at this time. The Reids were a family with a long-standing connection to piping; Robert's father Robert Reed (sic), a cabinet maker, had been a player of ''the Northumbrian big-pipes'', and an associate of James Allan, his son Robert was described later by James Fenwick as ''a beautiful player as well as maker'' of smallpipes, while Robert's son James (1814–1874) joined his father in the business. Robert died in North Shields on the 13th or 14 January 1837, and his death notice in the Newcastle Journal referred to him as a "piper, and as a maker of such instruments is known from the peer to the peasant, for the quality of their tone, and elegance of finish". He is buried in the graveyard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Pigg
Billy Pigg (1902 – 1968) was an English player of Northumbrian smallpipes. He was a vice-president and an influential member of the Northumbrian Pipers Society from 1930 until his death. Life and music He was born at Dilston Park, near Corbridge, Northumberland, in January 1902 and died in November 1968. He learned the instrument from several pipers including Tom and Henry Clough as well as Richard Mowat, but, according to Tommy Breckons, Batey of Stannington was his main teacher. Tommy later quoted Billy's reminiscences of the informal sessions at the Cloughs' and others: When he lived at Blagdon, he used to bike down to Clough's. There were fourteen or fifteen pipers all living in that area, and they took turns to play at each other's houses, including Billy's. Billy told him that when he first went to one of these sessions there were fourteen pipers in the house, ''..., and everyone was better than me! By God..., there were some good pipers. But all I had to dee was practic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum
The Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum is located in Morpeth Chantry, Morpeth, Northumberland, England. The museum, founded in 1987, contains a large collection of historic bagpipes, especially, but not exclusively, historic Northumbrian smallpipes and Border pipes, mainly based on the collection of William Alfred Cocks (1892-1971). The collection had initially been housed in the Black Gate, Newcastle upon Tyne, the home of the city's Society of Antiquaries. The collection also includes a large collection of bagpipe music, both in print and in manuscript, and Cocks's collection of photographs and press cuttings relating to bagpipes; many of these refer to the early years of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society. The current curator is Anne Moore. The museum provides a venue for the regular meetings of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society. In September 2008, disastrous flooding in central Morpeth forced the successful evacuation of the entire collection. After extensive repairs and refur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1877 Births
Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876 – Battle of Wolf Mountain: Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the United States Cavalry in Montana. * January 20 – The Conference of Constantinople ends, with Ottoman Turkey rejecting proposals of internal reform and Balkan provisions. * January 29 – The Satsuma Rebellion, a revolt of disaffected samurai in Japan, breaks out against the new imperial government; it lasts until September, when it is crushed by a professionally led army of draftees. * February 17 – Major General Charles George Gordon of the British Army is appointed Governor-General of the Sudan. * March – ''The Nineteenth Century (periodical), The Nineteenth Century'' magazine is founded in London. * Marc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
