Northumbrian Small Pipes Society
A short-lived North East England society that promoted Northumbrian smallpipes, their repertoire, and the musicians who played them.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society was a regional musical and antiquarian society founded in 1893 by members of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. Its purpose was to encourage interest in, and performance of, the Northumbrian smallpipes and their associated musical tradition. The instrument is a bellows-blown bagpipe distinctive to Northumberland and the surrounding North East of England, and the society emerged during a period when local scholars, collectors, musicians, and cultural institutions were increasingly concerned with documenting Northumbrian song and instrumental music. The society's creation followed several decades of related activity. From the 1850s, the Society of Antiquaries had collected tune and song manuscripts through its Ancient Melodies Committee. During the 1870s it organised piping competitions, while the 1882 publication of Northumbrian Minstrelsy made regional musical research available to a broader audience and included a substantial section devoted to smallpipe tunes. The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society therefore combined preservation, research, education, and performance rather than operating as a commercial brand or manufacturer. Its most important publication was J. W. Fenwick's Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes, issued in 1896. This was the first tutor specifically produced for the instrument and gave the society an enduring place in the history of Northumbrian piping. The society also published Transactions in 1894 and 1896–1897 and issued an account of its 1897 annual meeting. These publications recorded aspects of the repertoire, organisation, and membership of the piping community and helped preserve information that might otherwise have been lost. The society held regular meetings and organised annual competitions. Its membership structure included ordinary members, who paid an annual subscription of five shillings, and honorary playing members. Surviving records identify the names and addresses of 37 pipers associated with the society. The membership territory extended across much of historic Northumberland and parts of eastern County Durham, from communities around Tyneside and the Northumberland coalfield to locations in the North Tyne Valley, western Northumberland, Alnwick, Morpeth, and Durham settlements including Willington, Darlington, and Bishop Auckland. Its social base consequently included both antiquarian and professional or serious amateur interests, with many players coming from industrial and mining communities. The society attracted figures associated with Northumbrian cultural life. The artist Joseph Crawhall II was a member and had published Northumbrian songs and compiled a tune collection drawing on manuscript and oral sources. Charles James Spence, an antiquarian, banker, and artist, served on the committee and designed the society's competition medal and artwork for its Transactions. Richard Welford served as president and lectured on the Waits of Newcastle. Pipers Richard Mowat and Henry Clough were awarded the society's gold medal. The society's records also preserve evidence of relationships among prominent piping families and local cultural networks. Despite the breadth of its activities, the organisation was short-lived. Newspaper reports described its annual general meeting in April 1900 as successful and referred to approximately 200 members, nearly half of them pipers. Officers were elected for another year, but no later formal meetings, competitions, or comparable society activity are documented. A 1906 report described the organisation as having done valuable work in reviving interest in the pipes but said that seven winters had passed without signs of activity, suggesting that it had become inactive before or around its final recorded general meeting. Pipers also began arranging their own gatherings independently. In the same period as the last known meeting, Henry Clough, Richard Mowat, and other musicians organised a gathering at the Black Horse in Monkseaton, chaired by the society's secretary Walter Corder. These events illustrate a shift toward musician-led organisation. The later Northumbrian Pipers' Society, founded in the twentieth century, involved active pipers more directly and ultimately became the longer-lasting institutional successor. The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society is therefore remembered less as a continuing organisation than as an important precursor whose publications, competitions, and records contributed to the revival and documentation of Northumbrian smallpipe culture.
History
The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society was established in 1893 in Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumberland by members of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. Its formation reflected a broader Victorian interest in collecting, studying, and preserving regional culture. Northumbrian music had already attracted sustained attention: the Society of Antiquaries had collected traditional melodies and organised piping competitions, and Northumbrian Minstrelsy, published in 1882, had helped present the region's songs and smallpipe tunes to a wider readership. The society focused on the Northumbrian smallpipes, a bellows-blown bagpipe associated particularly with Northumberland and the North East of England. It encouraged both scholarship and active music-making through meetings, publications, competitions, and membership. Ordinary members paid an annual subscription of five shillings, while honorary playing members represented the society's closer connection with musicians. Surviving records list 37 known pipers and provide their addresses, showing that the organisation's reach extended from Tyneside and south-east Northumberland through the mining communities between the Tyne and Wansbeck, westward to Haltwhistle and the North Tyne Valley, northward to areas around Alnwick, and southward into eastern County Durham. The society's most lasting educational achievement was J. W. Fenwick's Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes, published in 1896. It was the first tutor for the instrument and helped formalise knowledge that had previously been transmitted largely through personal instruction and local tradition. The society also issued Transactions in 1894 and 1896–1897 and published an account of its 1897 annual meeting. These records provide information about players, repertoire, institutions, and the social networks surrounding Northumbrian piping. Its membership included people whose interests ranged from active musicianship to antiquarian collecting. Joseph Crawhall II, an artist and student of Northumbrian culture, was associated with the society and had compiled tune material from manuscripts and oral sources. Charles James Spence, a banker, artist, and curator connected with the Society of Antiquaries, served on the committee. He owned an unusual set of six-drone pipes, designed the medal presented to winners of the society's competitions, and produced artwork for the Transactions. Richard Welford was president and gave a lecture on the Waits of Newcastle. The organisation awarded its gold medal to Richard Mowat and Henry Clough. The society held annual competitions intended to encourage performance and reward accomplished pipers. However, its committee appears to have been dominated by antiquarian and civic interests, with relatively few honorary playing members. Later commentary has suggested that some pipers may have regarded it as more concerned with preservation and historical study than with the living practice of the instrument. The available evidence does not establish a definitive reason for the society's decline, but its limited number of active playing members and the emergence of independent gatherings organised by pipers provide plausible historical context. The last clearly documented formal activity occurred in 1900. Reports in the Newcastle Courant described the annual general meeting as flourishing, with about 200 members, almost half of them pipers, and recorded the election of officers for the following year. No later records of formal meetings or competitions have been identified. A 1906 newspaper account stated that the society had done useful work in reviving interest but had shown no signs of life for seven winters, indicating that it had probably become inactive before or around the time of its final annual meeting. At the same time, musicians were creating less formal networks. Henry Clough, Richard Mowat, and other pipers arranged gatherings at the Black Horse in Monkseaton, one of which was chaired by secretary Walter Corder. These events foreshadowed a more musician-led approach to organisation. The Northumbrian Pipers' Society, founded later, involved working pipers more directly and became the principal long-term institutional successor. The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society is consequently remembered as a short-lived but influential precursor: its competitions encouraged performance, its publications preserved musical knowledge, and its tutor helped establish a foundation for later teaching and revival work.
- 1906
Later report confirms prolonged inactivity
[1]A newspaper account describes the society as having been inactive for seven winters while recognising its earlier contribution to the revival of interest.
- 1900
Last documented annual general meeting
[1]The society holds its last known formal annual general meeting and elects officers for another year.
- 1897
Annual meeting documentation
[1]The society publishes an account of its annual meeting and further Transactions.
- 1896
Fenwick tutor published
[1]J. W. Fenwick's Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes becomes the first dedicated instructional book for the instrument.
- 1894
First Transactions
[1]The society publishes an early volume of Transactions documenting its activities and interests.
- 1893
Foundation of the society
[1]Members of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne establish the Northumbrian Small Pipes Society to promote the instrument and its music.
Products and positioning
A regional preservation and performance society combining antiquarian research with practical support for Northumbrian smallpipe musicians.
Educational publication · 1896
Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes
Written by J. W. Fenwick and published in 1896, this was the first known tutor devoted specifically to the Northumbrian smallpipes. Its importance lies in converting practical knowledge of the instrument into a documented instructional format and making the society a participant in the transmission of playing technique and repertoire.
Society publication · 1894
Transactions of the Northumbrian Small Pipes Society
The society issued Transactions in 1894 and again in 1896–1897. These publications recorded elements of the organisation's work, membership, musical interests, and local piping culture. They are historically valuable because they preserve names, addresses, and evidence about the geographical distribution of players.
Cultural event
Annual piping competitions
Annual competitions were organised to stimulate performance and recognise accomplished Northumbrian pipers. The society awarded a gold medal to Richard Mowat and Henry Clough, while committee member Charles James Spence designed the competition medal.
Brand decisions
1900
Formal society activity gives way to independent pipers' gatheringsStrategyBackground
Pipers were increasingly organising social and musical events independently of the society's antiquarian committee structure.
Action taken
Henry Clough, Richard Mowat, and others arranged gatherings at the Black Horse in Monkseaton alongside the society's final documented formal meeting.
Aftermath
The shift anticipated the more musician-led organisation of the later Northumbrian Pipers' Society, while the older society left no subsequent record of sustained formal activity.
1896
Commission and publication of a dedicated piping tutorProduct launchBackground
The society sought to promote the Northumbrian smallpipes at a time when knowledge of the instrument was mainly transmitted through local musicians and oral practice.
Action taken
It published J. W. Fenwick's Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes, the first known tutor specifically dedicated to the instrument.
Aftermath
The book became the society's most significant educational contribution and an important source for later understanding of Northumbrian piping.
Recent events
- 1906
Contemporary account describes the society as inactive[1]
Other
A report concerning a performance at Alnwick Castle credits the society with helping revive interest but says that seven winters had passed without signs of life.
- 1900
Final documented annual general meeting[1]
Other
Newcastle newspaper reports describe a well-attended annual general meeting, approximately 200 members, and the election of officers for another year; no subsequent formal society activity is known.
- 1900
Independent pipers' gatherings develop alongside the society[1]
Other
Pipers including Henry Clough and Richard Mowat organise a gathering at the Black Horse in Monkseaton, indicating increasing musician-led activity outside the society's formal structure.
- 1897
Annual meeting account and later Transactions appear[1]
Other
The society publishes an account of its annual meeting and further Transactions, extending its role as a recorder of piping activity.
- 1896
First dedicated Northumbrian smallpipe tutor is published[1]
Product launch
J. W. Fenwick's Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes is published, providing the first known tutor specifically for the instrument.
- 1894
Society publishes early Transactions[1]
Other
The society begins publishing Transactions, creating a documentary record of its work and the Northumbrian piping tradition.
- 1893
Northumbrian Small Pipes Society is founded[1]
Other
Members of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne establish a society devoted to promoting Northumbrian smallpipes and their music.
Sources1 sources
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