Dulcimers made by Mark Widdows of Norwich (1818-1889)
All these instruments have black soundboards with gilt decoration, finely turned chessmen bridges, four small feet and a carved stand. None have less than four strings per course, and two have six strings per course, indicating that these were (and still are) high-end instruments.
Widdows no. 1
We know a lot about the history of this sophisticated dulcimer over the last hundred years or so. It was previously owned and played by Henry Edwards (until 1955) and later it was owned and played by Frank Read – both from the Norwich area. It would be tempting to think then, that it had always stayed in the locality, but the case and its contents hinted at another scenario, involving a trip to New York just before the 1914-18 war. See Henry Edwards’ page for more details – don’t miss this one, it’s a fascinating story! Or you can pop straight over to another of my websites, Unsung Histories, where the story is written up in full, as “The Well-Travelled Dulcimer”
It is tuned in G, with 6 courses of strings over 22 bridges, and 4 sound holes. The decoration around the soundholes is unique and nicely done, although some of it is now obliterated by some black tape stuck on to mask a crack in the soundboard. The name M. Widdows is stamped into the wood near the top of the left endblock. It is rare to come across a dulcimer with six strings per course, and would have been top of the range at the time of its manufacture. It is still in superb condition, in its original case and clearly having been cared for by the generations of owners since its creation some time before 1889.
Widdows no. 2
Again we know a fair bit about one of this dulcimer’s previous owners: Herbert Sadd. Billy Bennington had told us about Herbert, and had a tune he had learned from him, which he called Herbert Sadd’s Schottische. Herbert was a brick-layer from Marling ford, Norfolk, who worked on the construction of the Blackwall Tunnel under the river Thames in London! There is more to read about Herbert and his brother Marshall Sadd, another dulcimer player, on their respective pages.
It wasn’t until 2005 when we met Herbert’s granddaughter, who still owned the dulcimer, that we discovered it to have been made by Mark Widdows.
Another very beautiful instrument, with extra gilt decorations, this one is another top-of-the-range instrument, again with 6 courses of strings over 22 bridges, and 4 sound holes. The pride in the making of this instrument is shown in the brass maker’s plaque, which says “M. Widdows, Maker, Norwich” and is placed on the stand, where audience members would have been able to see it.
It was in its original case, which is similar to that of Widdows No.1, and some of Herbert’s cane beaters were in the case.
Widdows no. 3
This dulcimer appeared in David Kettlewell’s 1976 publication “All the Tunes that Ever There Were, when it was owned by Tony Singleton. Until recently, the only image available was that blurry black and white image, but thanks to the present owner, we now have a full set of pictures and dimensions.
This dulcimer is also tuned in G, but is a smaller model than the previous two, having 4 courses of strings across 21 bridges, and two sound holes. The gilt decoration this time is limited to the standard sound hole rosettes. The name M. Widdows is stamped into the wood at the top end of the right endblock, facing away from the player.
Widdows no. 4
Photos of this dulcimer were sent to us in 2017 by the owner, who was hoping to get it renovated into playing condition.
This is another smaller dulcimer, with 5 strings per course over 20 bridges, and two sound holes, quite similar to No. 5. It has the standard sound hole decoration and most of the original bridges, although in the photos we were sent, it had been strung up without the bridges in place. The photos also show an added cat, which would not have been an original accessory! The name M. Widdows is stamped into the wood near the top of the left endblock.
Widdows no. 5
Photos of this dulcimer were sent to us in 2020 by someone whose friend had had it restored by Alec Anness, and who was looking to sell it. They were kind enough to supply a full set of photos and dimensions to add to the website in order to share knowledge about these instruments.
This is another smaller dulcimer, with 5 strings per course over 22 bridges, and two sound holes, quite similar to No. 4. It has the standard sound hole decoration, but with additional gilt motifs in the corners, which are unique to this dulcimer. The name M. Widdows is stamped into the wood at the top end of the right endblock, facing away from the player. This dulcimer had its own case with some original cane beaters ingeniously stored in the lid.
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With thanks to Evan Stiewing, Rick Prescott and Sue Evans and the late Pat Webster, Frank Read and John Halliday.
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