The Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum is located in Morpeth Chantry,

Morpeth, Northumberland Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, North East England, lying on the River Wansbeck. Nearby towns include Ashington, Northumberland, Ashington and Bedlington, Northumberland, Bedlington. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 ...

, England. The museum, founded in 1987, contains a large collection of historic bagpipes, especially, but not exclusively, historic

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 N ...

and Border pipes, 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 ...

, 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 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 a ...

. 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 substantive title, style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a United Kingdom, British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of th ...

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