Christchurch House
The building is to the design of Henry Edmund Goodridge, a Bath architect perhaps best known for the extraordinary Beckford Tower on Lansdown (1826) [more]
Andrew Hooker Violins
For fourteen years I was in the violin department at Sotheby's. My last seven years there were as a departmental
director. This meant travelling around the world advising clients about their instruments.
Now I'm far happier: I've written a book about violins and I've been working for myself for over twenty-five years.
I specialise in violins, violas, cellos and their bows for the professional (sorry, I don't do school fiddles) and I'm based in a converted country church rather than a conventional violin shop. It's a lovely place to try instruments, and indeed is popular as a performance space. Internationally famous performers play here. There are some images below.
Being away from a city centre has many advantages. Parking is easy and it's quiet. I have no punitive business rates, or indeed rental costs, that must be paid for from inflated profits. It takes about two hours to get here from London. However, that might save a great deal . . .
I'm always keen to buy antique instruments, not just of the violin family, for restoration. I work closely with perhaps the most gifted restorer in the business, Colin Irving. I'll point out any repairs, and I'm happy to guarantee the work.
A Dancing Master's Kit, or Pochette. The strings are roughly the same length as those of a violin, and similarly tuned, so any fiddle player can use it. Having such a tiny soundbox means it can never be noisy. The term "Kit" tends to be used by the English: "Pochette", a French word, was used in mainland Europe. In modern usage pochette can mean a wallet, but it's any small pocket.
An insight into the violin collection of Gerald Segelman, also known as Mr. Black. I have tried to make my book more interesting and informative than other books about violin collections. Among the acknowledged masterpieces of Stradivari and other famous old-master violin makers are some less notable, though fascinating, instruments, and some details of various restorations. I have demonstrated that one of the most famous violins in the world has been incorrectly attributed until now. I have tried to include information that, as far as I am aware, has not been written elsewhere. Perhaps the only convention that has not been compromised is the quality of the photography.
The building is to the design of Henry Edmund Goodridge, a Bath architect perhaps best known for the extraordinary Beckford Tower on Lansdown (1826) [more]
