Copy of an 18th century pibgorn, with cow-horn bell and wind-cap.
The pibgorn is a single reed instrument that was played in Wales until the 18th century. This example is a replica that may have been modelled on an example in the collection of the Royal Society of Antiquities (illustrated in 'Old English Instruments of Music' by Francis Galpin 3rd 1910, plate XXXV). It was formerly owned by Joseph Bridge (1853-1929). Bridge was the organist of Chester Cathedral for almost fifty years. He also founded the Chester Music Society and resuscitated the Chester Music Festival and, as the 1954 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians explains, 'his influence on the city's music was for its good'.
