Northumbrian Small Pipes Society

The Northumbrian Small Pipes Society was founded in 1893, by members of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne to promote interest in, and playing of Northumbrian smallpipes, and their music. As it only continued in existence for seven years, it is now regarded primarily as a short-lived precursor to the Northumbrian Pipers' Society. However, despite its short life, it played a significant role, publishing the first tutor for the instrument, J. W. Fenwick's Instruction Book for the Northumbrian Small-Pipes (1896), holding regular meetings, and organising annual competitions. In 1894 and 1896–7, the society published Transactions, as well as publishing an account of their Annual Meeting of 1897. As well as Members, who paid an annual 5s. subscription, there was a category of Honorary Playing Members. Since the society's records include the names and addresses of all members, of either kind, they have listed the names and addresses for 37 known pipers.^[1] Two articles in the Newcastle Courant, in April 1900, gave an account of their Annual General Meeting, at the Literary and Philosophical Society, and referred to the society as flourishing, with 200 members, of whom almost half were pipers.^[2] Officers were elected for the following year; however there is no subsequent record of any formal activity of the society, such as meetings or competitions. In 1906, when the Cloughs played for King Edward VII at Alnwick Castle, an account of this in the Berwickshire News stated that the Northumbrian Small Pipes Society had done some good work in reviving interest, but that 'seven winters had passed without it giving any signs of life'.^[3] This suggests that the society had been largely inactive for some time before its final AGM.

The same week as the final meeting, a group of pipers, including Henry Clough and Richard Mowat, organised a gathering of pipers and their friends at The Black Horse in Monkseaton, showing that pipers themselves had begun to organise events in parallel to the society; the 1900 meeting was chaired by Walter Corder, secretary of the NSPS.^[4] This was the second such meeting, the first having been the previous May.^[5] These events were described as 'annual', but there are no subsequent newspaper accounts of these until an informal gathering there in 1906.^[6]