This website is about the historical dulcimers of East Anglia, its makers and players.
In East Anglia this beautiful instrument was just known as a ‘dulcimer’, not a ‘hammered dulcimer’ as it was called in America, where it was necessary to distinguish it from the ‘mountain’ or ‘Appalachian’ dulcimer, which is actually a completely different instrument, the only similarity being that it has a wooden sound-box and strings!
There have probably been more dulcimer makers and players in East Anglia than in any other region of England.
Interest in the dulcimer in East Anglia was probably at its peak from around 1850 to 1930. The demand for instruments provided work for both skilled instrument makers and jobbing carpenters and also encouraged home made creations.
In East Anglia the old players used cane beaters, typically wound with wool. Many instruments were highly decorative and had an integrated hinged stand to enable them to be played whilst seated at a table.
This website is based on research carried out by John and Katie Howson, between 1978 and the present day. It was originally published in 2015. John died in 2022, but Katie is continuing, and updating, both the website and the research.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank all those who have gone before me, in particular David Kettlewell, Russell Wortley, Billy Bennington, Reg Reader and my late husband, John Howson, co-founder of the original East Anglian Dulcimers website. Two long-term dulcimer friends have been of great help, especially in recent years – Richard Blake and George Monger.
Contact
If you would like to discuss anything about this site, or if you have an East Anglian Style dulcimer, or if you knew someone who played – do please get in touch. You can email me at katie.howsonatgmail.com (just change the word at for the symbol @)
All material on this website is copyright. Anyone wishing to quote or use this original research should credit it to Katie Howson and cite this website as the source. Please see our Terms and Conditions page for more information, and do contact me if you wish to use any of the contents in any way. Thank you.