James Boulton Knights’ dulcimer
This is a finely made instrument, so clearly James Boulton Knights had very good woodworking skills or he worked with someone else. He would probably have come across dulcimers either in the Wymondham / Wramplingham area as a lad, or in the Coslany /Heigham areas of Norwich as a young man. In the latter area there was at least one master cabinet maker producing high quality dulcimers at the time – Mark Widdows who ran the Lamb Inn and then the Arabian Horse public houses and was listed in censuses as ‘musical instrument maker and publican’. James would have kept up with his Norwich contacts to some extent as his in-laws continued to live in the area.
Given the Rickinghall provenance, the instrument must have been made between 1856 and 1861, making it one of the earlier instruments we have been able to identify.
The instrument has 5 courses of strings over 20 bridges and two sound holes and is tuned in D. An original pair of beaters, made of metal and bound in cotton, came with the dulcimer.
Dimensions of James Boulton Knights’ dulcimer
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