List of bagpipe makers

This is a list of bagpipe makers. It covers both family-based and commercial outfits from the 17th century to the present era. In the 1950s, the bagpipe traditions of Europe were revived. The market is increasing in size as the popularity of the instrument is increasing, and the list of bagpipe makers is rising.

British Isles pipes

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Firm Name Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Unknown James Ramsay Oswald Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 1941 2003 One of only ten bagpipe makers in Australia. [1]
Dunbar Bagpipe Maker Ltd. Rick Pettigrew, Barry Dunbar, Jacquie Dunbar St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Founded by Jack Dunbar of Glasgow in 1985 [2]
John Walsh Bagpipes Ltd. John Walsh, Tom MacMillan Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada [3]
The Burley Bagpipes Company Graham Burley Naramata, British Columbia, Canada [4]
Lee & Sons Bagpipes Jack Lee, Andrew Lee Surrey, British Columbia, Canada [5]
Macbeth and Co. Bagpipes Martin MacBeth Brisbane, Australia 1990s Began in Brisbane 2010? [1]
Fisher Bagpipes Wayne Fisher Sarnia, ON Self-taught pipemaker. One of only a handful of bagpipe makers in Canada. [6]
American Bagpipe Makers Inc. Charles E. Kron Dobbs Ferry, NY 1987? [7]
Rolf of Sweden Rolf Littorin Sweden 1990s Custom made bagpipes: Great Highland Bagpipes, Smallpipes, Practice Chanters. Self-taught pipe maker. [8]
William Sinclair and Son William M. Sinclair Edinburgh, Scotland 1926 [9]
MacLellan Bagpipes Roddy MacLellan Monroe, NC Former Tiffany & Co. silversmith. [10]
McCallum Bagpipes Ltd. Kilmarnock
O'Mahony Warpipes James O'Mahony Cork, Ireland 1914? From Mitchelstown in Cork. Maker of Fiddles and Warpipes. [11]
O'Keeffe Warpipes O'Keeffe Tippperary, Ireland 1910 Is said to have been one of the first makers of Warpipes in Ireland in the 20th century. Prior to that Warpipes weren't known to have been made since 1870. [12]
O'Crowley Music Tadhg & Denis Crowley Cork, Ireland 1920 1952

1966

Brother's Tadhg and Denis Crowley made Warpipes, Highland Pipes, and Uilleann pipes in Cork. [13]
David Naill & Co., Ltd. Leslie Cowell Somerset, England Founded 1976. Makers of Scottish Bagpipes, Smallpipes & chanters. [14]
Peter Henderson Ltd. Peter Henderson Glasgow, Scotland 1868 1972 One of the famous Scottish bagpipe makers. Merged with R. G. Hardie & Co. in 1972. [15]
R. G. Hardie & Co. Robert G. Hardie Glasgow, Scotland 1950 [16][17]
Firm Name Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Unknown William Taylor Philadelphia, PA 1840-1872 1901 [18]
The Burley Bagpipes Company Graham Burley Naramata, British Columbia, Canada [4]
Unknown Charles Taylor Philadelphia, PA 1840-1872 1902 [18]
Patrick A. Brown Boston, Massachusetts 1910 1958
Leo Rowsome

Scottish smallpipes and borderpipes

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Firm Name Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Fisher Bagpipes Wayne Fisher Sarnia, ON Self-taught pipemaker. [6]
Hamish Moore Dunkeld
Fred Morrison Smallpipes Smallpipes and Borderpipes manufactured by McCallum Bagpipes Ltd
The Burley Bagpipes Company Graham Burley Naramata, British Columbia, Canada [4]
John Walsh Bagpipes Ltd. John Walsh Antigonish, NS Smallpipes, Great Highland Pipes, and Shuttlepipes. [4]
Iona Bagpipes Bill Hart Sydney, Australia Smallpipes, Scottish Double Smallpipes [19]


Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
John Dunn Newcastle upon Tyne 1764 1820 Developed keywork for the Northumbrian smallpipe around 1800
G.G. Armstrong England 1877 1955
Jack Armstrong Wideopen, North Tyneside 1904 1978
Robert Reid Newcastle upon Tyne 1786 1837
Tom Clough Newsham 1881 1964
Colin Ross United Kingdom
William H. Hedworth 1994

Lincolnshire bagpipes

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Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
John Addison South Somercotes, Lincolnshire [20]

Cornish bagpipes

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Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Christopher Bayley [21]
Julian Goodacre Peebles [21]
Firm Name Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
John Walsh Bagpipes Ltd. John Walsh, Tom MacMillan Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada [3]

Continental European pipes

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Armenian bagpipes

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Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Karen Hakobyan

Estonian bagpipes (torupill)

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Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Ants Taul Estonia

French and German pipes

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Greek Bagpipes

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Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Yannis Pantazis La Ponta Venetian Tower Greek bagpipe exhibition-workshop [22]

Swedish bagpipes (säckpipa)

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Name Firm Location Apprenticed Retired Notes Refs
Alban Faust Sweden
Leif Eriksson Sweden

Sources

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Bibliography
  • Hardy, Neal (March 1990). "Changing Traditions: Bagpipes in Australia". Australian Folklore (4): 64–73.
  • Merryweather, James W. (May 2001). "Two-chanter Bagpipes in England". The Galpin Society Journal. 54: 62–75. doi:10.2307/842446. JSTOR 842446.
  • O'Neill, Francis (1973). Irish Minstrels and Musicians (1st Norwood ed.). Darby, Pennsylvania: Norwood Editions. ISBN 0-88305-494-9.
  • Teahan, John (May 1963). "A List of Irish Instrument Makers". The Galpin Society Journal. 16 (16): 28–32. doi:10.2307/841092. JSTOR 841092.
News articles
  • Collins, Glenn (1980-09-15). "And pipes for almost everywhere else". The New York Times. p. B14. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  • Edwards, Bill (2003-11-22). "When pipes called, he answered". The Advertiser. p. 80.
  • Morden, Paul (2009-11-16). "Bagpipes unfairly maligned". The Observer. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  • Prenon, Mary T. (1997-09-29). "Echoes of Scotland". Westchester County Business Journal. Vol. 36, no. 39. pp. 1, 2.
  • Rosenberg, Merri (1995-10-08). "Bagpipe maker outdoes the Scots". The New York Times. p. 13WC.14. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  • Walker, Richard (2006-11-05). "An instrument to stir the blood". The Times and Democrat. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
Online resources

References

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  1. ^ a b The Advertiser, November 22, 2003
  2. ^ Dunbar Bagpipes, 2020
  3. ^ a b John Walsh Bagpipes Ltd, 2020
  4. ^ a b c d The Burley Bagpipes Company, 1996
  5. ^ Lee & Sons Bagpipes, 2018
  6. ^ a b The Observer, November 16, 2009.
  7. ^ The New York Times, October 8, 1995; Westchester County Business Journal, September 29, 1997.
  8. ^ Hermansson, Mats d (2003). From Icon to Identity: Scottish Piping and Drumming in Scandinavia, University of Gothenburg, diss.
  9. ^ The main source for this information is the history page of the William Sinclair and Son website. See also:
  10. ^ The Times and Democrat, November 5, 2006.
  11. ^ Bureau of Military History: Seamus O'Mahony, witness statement
  12. ^ "An Claidheamh Soluis: Iúil-Nollaig 1910". Issuu. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  13. ^ Mitchell, John. "Crowley Pipemakers: Uilleann Pipers and Makers". Cork Pipers Club.
  14. ^ "David Naill & Co. Bagpipes". www.naillbagpipes.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
  15. ^ "Piping PressHistory: Peter Henderson, the Iconic Bagpipe Maker". Piping Press. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  16. ^ "History - Bagpipes, Pipe Band Uniforms and Drums". R. G. Hardie & Co. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  17. ^ "Hardie, Robert G." The Bagpipe Place Museum. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  18. ^ a b O'Neill 1973, pp. 160–161.
  19. ^ "Iona Bagpipes". iona-bagpipes.com. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  20. ^ Lincolnshire bagpipes? 'Scottish' instrument a piece of county's history. Sunday Telegraph, 1 January 2010
  21. ^ a b Merryweather 2001.
  22. ^ January/February 2013 issue of Songlines (#89) article:Postcard from Santorini