'Cello - St John the Baptist - Berkswell, West Midlands
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SMacB
N 52° 24.600 W 001° 38.585
30U E 592297 N 5807506
An early eighteenth-century English violoncello. The 'cello was made by John Barrett in London in 1720, during George Frideric Handel's first decade in London. Situated in St John the Baptist church, Berkswell.
Waymark Code: WMVKEA
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/29/2017
Views: 2
"The Berkswell ‘Cello is labelled and dated by the maker: John Barrett at the Harp and Crown in Pickadilly, London 1720.The ‘cello is listed in the Berkswell Church Warden accounts in 1794, … ‘paid in part towards the *Basevial for the use of Church… £1-8s-6d’.
By 1794 the ‘cello was very much second hand at 74 years old. A musicians’ gallery was erected at the West end of the church in 1777. This gallery accommodated a church band and quire that formed part of the ‘West Gallery’ tradition of music for psalmody and hymnody in Anglican Churches at the time.
Nine pews were allocated to parishioners, and paid for, in the gallery in 1778 and three were left for ‘ye singers’. The gallery was dismantled in 1896 to make way for the installation of a new Willis organ that was blessed at a special service in 1897.
The ‘cello’s ‘retirement’ -
Old church instruments, such as the Berkswell ‘Cello, were ‘retired’ and fell into disuse. The ‘cello was held at Warwick Museum in its oak case for part of the 20th Century and then later in the Berkswell Museum of local history, which sadly closed in 2016 .
The Berkswell Museum Committee considered the challenges for the ‘cello’s restoration in 2007 when they were approached by Chris Egerton, a postgraduate student of stringed-instrument conservation at the Royal College of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He prepared a ‘Condition Report, and Treatment Proposals’ that included photographs of the inside, acquired using a miniature camera, as well as suggestions for future display and interpretation.
The ‘cello was in a very fragile and unstable condition with many missing parts and severe woodworm damage throughout. The committee decided on conservation and restoration to preserve the instrument for future generations.
Restoration -
The instrument was restored to ‘display’ standards rather than ‘to play’ standards, which would have compromised its many original 18th century features.
In 2017 the ‘cello was returned to where it was last used in Berkswell Church 120 years ago. Thanks to a generous memorial donation a special exhibition cabinet was obtained to house the ‘cello and several associated objects. These include a replica 18th century bow and some important fragments discovered during the conservation process."
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