A Paglesham Violin-Maker
by Ron Atkinson
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When Ron and Ray Atkinson decided to research their family history, they little expected to discover that their great-uncle had the kudos of being one of the greatest British violin-makers.
William Thomas Reed Atkinson, whose story began in Tottenham, North London and ended in Paglesham, Essex, has a whole chapter to himself in the "Violin Family and its Makers in the British Isles".
He was born in Stepney, east London, in 1851 and attended school until he was 14, at which point he was packed off to Birkenhead to work in his uncle's pub. He did not last long there, and soon joined the Merchant Navy and served as a 2nd steward on steamships working out of Liverpool.
By 1869, he was back in London with his parents and had become apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner. He worked for a Tottenham builder, Arthur Porter (his future brother-in-law) and amongst other things helped construct the original wooden grand-stand at White Hart Lane. Atkinson suffered a serious injury during his time as a carpenter which led to him having a leg amputated below the knee and having to wear a wooden prosthesis.
Perhaps as a result of this accident, Atkinson began to concentrate on cabinet-making. He took a great interest in wood finishes and varnishes, and experimented with his own compounds. When he took on a double-fronted shop with a rear workshop in Church Road, Tottenham in the 1880s, violin-making became the focus of his activities.
Varnishes play a critical role in violin making. The cellular structure of wood makes the raw instrument very unstable and highly susceptible to changes in temperature and humidity. It is the multiple layers of varnish and the manner in which they are applied that transforms this into a quality instrument able to hold its tune and tone. All the famous violin makers, including the masters from the Cremona region of Italy, had their own methods and secret formulations for varnish. It seems that William Atkinson was no exception.
Interviewed for a newspaper in 1928 Atkinson is quoted as saying, “If I were asked what was my greatest gift, I should say it was to make a violin, but I would not spend five minutes on it if I had not got the varnish I use."
"That varnish is my own, and I would stake my life that it is the same as that which the old masters used."
The oil-based varnish Atkinson used took a long time to dry. He said he could make a violin in a fortnight, but he would need two years in which to varnish and dry it.
It was the varnishing process that eventually forced Atkinson to leave Tottenham. In those days, the varnish had to be air dried and in the early 1900s the air in Tottenham was becoming increasingly sooty which was spoiling the high quality finish for which Atkinson was striving. In 1911 he moved to the village of Paglesham in Essex where he took over the village general stores and Post Office at Church End. The idea was for his wife to run the Post Office and general store; they could live in the accommodation over the shop whilst on the third floor there was a workshop where he could devote his time to violin-making.
To assist in the process of drying the varnish on violins, he rigged up a “washing line” and pulley system out of the third floor workshop window to a tall post in the garden. On this line he would hang violins to dry and winch them in and out through the window as the weather conditions required. An elderly couple, who had lived in Paglesham all their lives, remembered seeing the violins hanging out to dry on this “washing line” device as they went to school.
William Atkinson died in Paglesham and on 24th December 1929, his death was recorded in the Daily Express. The secret of his varnish, sadly, died with him. The obituary said:
"The old man realised too late that he was dying, and tried to impart the secret to his son, but the effort was too much for him. He fell back on his pillow, dead….he was an old sailor, and lived for many years at Tottenham, moving to Paglesham in order to secure the pure air and sunshine for drying the varnish on his violins. To fill in his time he took a small general store and became postmaster for the village”.
William Atkinson died aged 78. He was acknowledged as one of England's finest violin makers and took the recipe of his renowned violin varnish to the grave.
Additional material from the web:
1. Vignette of William Atkinson by Professor B. W. Harvey, Faculty of Law, University of Birmingham. The article is a PDF document. Wait a few seconds for it to load, then use your browser back button when you have finished looking at it. Click here for the pdf article.
2. A French luthier shown making parts of a cello mixed in with clips of it being played. The last of the three images on the opening page is a video. Click on the image arrows until you find the video, then click on its start button in the bottom left corner of the video frame. Click here for the luthier website.
William Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
William Atkinson
From Mr Thorogood's Collection
Wm Atkinson (left) and Rev. Jennings
From Mr Thorogood's Collection
Wm Atkinson (left), Ben Atkinson (grandson), Rev. Jennings (right). Photo was taken in 1926 at "Sweetups" Church End.
From Mr Thorogood's Collection