The Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum is located in

Morpeth Chantry Morpeth Chantry also known as All Saints Chantry is a Grade I listed building situated adjacent to the site of the ancient bridge across the River Wansbeck at Morpeth, Northumberland. It was built in about 1296 and served both as a chapel dedica ...

, 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 The border pipes are a type of bagpipe related to the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe. It is perhaps confusable with the Scottish smallpipe, although it is a quite different and much older instrument. Although most modern Border pipes are close ...

, mainly based on the collection of

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 ...

(1892-1971). The collection had initially been housed in the Black Gate,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

, 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 refurbishment, the Chantry was reopened the following year, with a visit by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been s ...

External links

Official siteSociety of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne on BagpipesNorthumbrian Pipers' Society

References

Museums in Northumberland Bagpipe museums 1987 establishments in England Museums established in 1987 Musical instrument museums Morpeth, Northumberland {{UK-museum-stub

External links

See also

References