Old William Lamshaw facts for kids

William Lamshaw, often called "Old" William Lamshaw (born around 1712, died 1798), was one of the first well-known players of the Northumbrian Smallpipes. These are a special type of bagpipes from the Northumberland area in England. William Lamshaw was a famous piper himself. He became the official piper for the Duchess of Northumberland in 1775. He also taught many other pipers, and his grandson, Young William Lamshaw, later took over his job as the Duchess's piper.

Early Life of William Lamshaw

We don't have a record of when William Lamshaw was born. However, we can guess his birth year from how old he was when he died. Birth records from the early 1700s in Northumberland are not complete.

In 1752, William married Elizabeth Hall in Morpeth. The record says he was "William Lamshaw of Ponteland". This means he lived in Ponteland at that time. They had five children. One of them was named William, born in 1755. This son was the father of "Young William Lamshaw." Most of their children were christened in Morpeth, which suggests the family made Morpeth their home.

Morpeth Town Musician

William Lamshaw worked as a "Wait" for the town of Morpeth. He is mentioned in the town's records for 1764, 1765, and 1766. A "Wait" was a special job that combined being a town musician and a watchman. It was a respected position.

The Waits wore a green coat, drab knee breeches, and a silver badge on their right arm. The town paid for their uniform. They also received small payments from the town. In other nearby towns, Waits could collect a yearly fee from each house. This meant they could earn a good amount of money. When Morpeth looked for a new Wait in 1744, they said it was a "place of considerable profit." William Lamshaw might have kept this job until he died, as his burial record still calls him one of the Waits.

Piper to the Duchess

After another piper named Joseph Turnbull passed away in 1775, William Lamshaw became the official piper for the Duchess of Northumberland. He started appearing in the Duchess's records around 1780.

A famous engraver named Thomas Bewick once shared a story about William Lamshaw. Mr. Bewick said that a performer named Mr. Dibden was having trouble with the theatre band. Mr. Bewick suggested that "Old William Lamshaw," the Duke of Northumberland's Piper, could play instead. William Lamshaw agreed right away. Mr. Bewick told Mr. Dibden that the audience would love the piper, and he was right! Everyone enjoyed the change and was surprised. This story shows how popular William Lamshaw was as a performer during his lifetime. Even eight years after he died, in 1806, people remembered him. His grandson's obituary mentioned him as "the celebrated piper Lamshaw, of Morpeth."

Inspiring Other Pipers

William Lamshaw taught and influenced many other pipers. A later ducal piper named William Green wrote that John Peacock, another well-known piper, first learned from "Old" William Lamshaw. He later studied with Joseph Turnbull.

William Green also wrote that he only knew of the Northumbrian smallpipes being used in the army regiment. He mentioned that Mr. Cant and a person named Graham played the smallpipes during the American War. Then, during the French War, "one Lamshaw and myself" played. If Green was talking about "Old" William Lamshaw, then his statement that Young William Lamshaw was his nephew would be a mistake. However, it's possible that one of Old William's sons, who would have been Young William's uncle, was also a piper. But there are no other records to confirm this.

Another piper who was said to have learned from Lamshaw was William Cant. William Cant had worked for Joseph Turnbull and was William Green's uncle. A local poet, James Waddell, wrote in 1809 about a local vicar who played the pipes. This vicar was taught by "Old" William Lamshaw, the Duke of Northumberland's piper. The vicar later studied with Thomas Hair. Since Hair was only 19 when Lamshaw died, it's likely that Hair was also a student of Lamshaw, but there is no direct proof.

There is a set of Border pipes in Edinburgh that people say belonged to Lamshaw. However, there is no strong evidence that he actually owned them.