Finchcocks is an early Georgian

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

Goudhurst Goudhurst is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies in the Weald, around south of Maidstone, on the crossroads of the A262 and B2079. The parish consists of three wards: Goudhurst, Kilndown an ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. For 45 years it housed a large, visitor-friendly museum of historical

keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos ...

s, displaying a collection of

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a ...

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composit ...

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. M ...

s, square pianos, organs and other musical instruments. The museum was run by the owners of the house, Richard and Katrina Burnett. It is now owned by Neil and Harriet Nichols who use it as a family home and a venue fo
residential piano courses
In 2017, the museum was closed and the collection sold.

The house

The house was built in

1725 Events January–March * January 15 – James Macrae, a former captain of a freighter for the British East India Company, is hired by the Company to administer the Madras Presidency (at the time, the "Presidency of Fort St. Ge ...

and named after the family who lived on the site in the 13th century. It is noted for its

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by ...

and has a dramatic front elevation attributed to

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque architec ...

. It is located in of grounds. There is parkland to the front and a

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

to the rear with wide

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...

s, mature shrub borders, an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of la ...

for wild flowers, and a walled garden. There are extensive views over the Kentish landscape of park,

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

, and hop-gardens. The house, with impressive facades both back and front, is deceptive – the interior is a series of interconnecting rooms without corridors and only 13 metres deep. Those rooms, with their high ceilings and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

panelling, provided an ideal setting for music performed on period instruments; the house and instruments were used regularly for recordings by leading exponents of

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classic ...

such as

Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and directed ...

Simon Preston Simon John Preston (4 August 1938 – 13 May 2022) was an English organist, conductor, and composer.
...

and

Nigel North Nigel North (born 5 June 1954) is an English lutenist, musicologist, and pedagogue. Student days He studied guitar on a scholarship to the junior department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1964–70), taking up the lute in 1969, at ...

. There is also a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

club which was founded by Alastair Laurence of the Broadwood Piano company and was developed by Roan Kearsey-Lawson into a premier jazz venue where international artists have appeared including Frank Holder and Duncan Lamont. The club has also been featured on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

television.

The Finchcocks collection

Finchcocks was acquired by Richard Burnett, a fortepianist, in 1970. The Adlam Burnett workshop (founded by Derek Adlam and Richard Burnett) was set up at the house and enabled instrument makers to produce copies of historical keyboard instruments in an ideal environment, learning from the construction of many originals. The building housed the Katrina and Richard Burnett collection of over 100 historical

s; about forty of which were fully restored to playing condition. These could be seen and heard whenever the house was open to the public; it was one of the few collections of historical instruments at which people were welcome to play them themselves. With the Burnetts' retirement in 2015, the museum closed and many of its instruments were auctioned off for charity. The auction catalogue documented the instruments meticulously and in the auction many fetched two or three times the estimated prices. A total of £835,462 was raised from the sale of the collection. Fourteen instruments from the collection were retained and form the Richard Burnett Heritage Collection, to be housed in 2018 at the Burnetts' home in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...

. There is also a collection of musical pictures, prints and an exhibition on the theme of London's 18th-century pleasure gardens such as

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

and

Ranelagh Gardens Ranelagh Gardens (; alternative spellings include Ranelegh and Ranleigh, the latter reflecting the English pronunciation) were public pleasure gardens located in Chelsea, then just outside London, England, in the 18th century. History The R ...

Historical instruments in the collection

Clavichords

*Lindholm and Söderström: unfretted, 1806 *Georg Friedrich Schmahl: fretted, 1807

Harpsichords

* Joachim Antunes: single manual, 1785 *Thomas Blasser: double manual, 1744 *C.A.: bentside

spinet A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ. Harpsichords When the term ''spinet'' is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the ''bentside spinet'', described in this s ...

, c.1700 *Fr. Ant. L.: single manual, 1716 *Gregori: single manual, c.1697 *Onofrio Guarracino:

virginal The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Description A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ...

, 1668 *

Jacob Kirckman The Kirkman family (variants: Kirckman, Kirchmann) were English harpsichord and later piano makers of Alsatian origin, active from the 1770s until the late 1800s. Members of the Kirkman family Jacob Kirkman (4 March 1710 – 9 June 1792) was born ...

: double manual, 1756 *Joseph Mahoon: bentside spinet, 1742 (today in Geelvinck Early Piano Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Organs

*Anon:

chamber organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

, c.1680; chamber organ, c.1790; miniature free-reed organ, c.1860 *Alexandre Père et Fils:

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, 1859 *Autophone Company: cob organ (portable free-reed

barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the sam ...

), c.1885 * John Avery: chamber organ, 1792 *William Ayton: barrel organ, c.1800 *John Byfield: chamber organ, 1766 *

Longman and Broderip Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

: barrel organ, c.1790

Pianos

* Anon: portable square piano, c.1815;

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a ...

piano (possibly Schleip, Berlin), c.1825; domestic barrel piano, 19th century * Gustaf and Wilhelm Andersson: barrel piano, c.1890 * Bayes and Company: square piano, 1793 * Frederick Beale: upright euphonicon, c.1842 * Adam Beyer: square piano, 1777 * John Brinsmead and Sons: upright, c.1855 * John Broadwood and Son: grand, 1792; square, 1795; square, 1798; grand, 1801; square, c.1805 * John Broadwood and Sons: grand, c.1810; square, c.1820; grand, 1823; cabinet upright, c.1830; grand, 1846; square, 1858; grand, 1859 (now at Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex); upright, c.1870 *

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly active in England. Encourag ...

and Company: grand, c.1800; upright grand, 1804; square, c.1815; square, c.1815; square, c.1815; grand, c.1815; grand, c.1821; grand, 1822; cabinet upright, c.1825; cabinet upright, c.1825 *

Collard and Collard Collard may refer to: * Collard (plant), certain loose-leafed ''Brassica oleracea'' cultivars ** Collard liquor, a soup made from collard greens * "Collard Greens" (song), a 2013 song by hip hop artist Schoolboy Q People * Catherine Collard (194 ...

: square, c.1835; grand, c.1835; grand, c.1840 * William Edwards: cabinet upright, c.1825 Finchcocks 2

* W.J. Ennever and Son: upright, c.1850 *

Sébastien Érard Sébastien Érard (born Sebastian Erhard, 5 April 1752 – 5 August 1831) was a French instrument maker of German origin who specialised in the production of pianos and harps, developing the capacities of both instruments and pioneering the mod ...

: square, 1792 * Erard Frères: grand, 1801 * Erard: upright, c.1860; grand, 1866 * Johann Fritz: grand, c.1815 * Christopher Ganer: square, c.1780; square, 1784 *

Conrad Graf Conrad Graf (17 November 1782 in Riedlingen, Further Austria – 18 March 1851 in Vienna) was an Austrian-German piano maker. His pianos were used by Beethoven, Chopin, and Robert and Clara Schumann, among others. Life and career Graf began hi ...

: grand, c.1820; grand, 1826 * Crang Hancock: transverse grand, 1779 * Carl Henschker: grand, c.1840 * Mathias Jakesch: grand, 1832 * Jones, Round and Company: upright grand, c.1810 (today in Geelvinck Early Piano Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands and on loan at Huis Midwoud, Midwoud) * William Kearsing: square, c.1830 * Knowles and Allen: square, c.1805 * Sebastian Lengerer: grand, 1793 * Longman, Lukey and Company: square, c.1780 * Frederick Mathuschek: square, 1873 * Sébastien Mercier: upright, 1831 * Henri Pape: upright piano-console, 1841; upright piano-console, 1843 *

Ignace Pleyel Ignace Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period. Life Early years He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Ma ...

et Compagnie: upright, c.1840; grand, 1842 * Michael Rosenberger: grand, c.1800 * Leopold Sauer: pyramid piano, c.1805 * William Southwell: upright square, c.1800 * Robert Stodart: grand, 1787 * William and Matthew Stodart: grand, 1802 (now at Hammerwood Park, East Grinstead, Sussex); square, 1807 * Johann Baptist Streicher: grand, 1867 (today in Geelvinck Early Piano Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) *

Anton Walter Gabriel Anton Walter (5 February 1752 – 11 April 1826) was a builder of pianos. The '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most famous Viennese piano maker of his time".Latcham (2009) Life Walter was born in Neuhau ...

und Sohn: square, c.1800 * Wilson: square, 1789 * Robert Woffington: upright, c.1800 (today in Geelvinck Early Piano Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands) * Johannes Zumpe and Gabriel Buntebart: square, 1769 (today in Geelvinck Early Piano Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Others

* Anon: cylinder

musical box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...

with drum and bells, c.1895 * Busson: piano accordion, c.1850 * Chappell and Company: keyboard crystallophone (or 'pianino'), c.1815 (today in Geelvinck Music Museum, Zutphen, Netherlands); digitorium, c.1870 * Paul Lochmann: symphonion (disc musical box), c.1895 * Thomas Machell and Sons: dulcitone, c.1920 (today in Geelvinck Music Museum, Zutphen, Netherlands) * J Tait: angelica (musical glasses), c.1815

Related publications

*Burnett, R: ''English Pianos at Finchcocks'', ''Early Music'' (1985) *Burnett, K and R: ''Finchcocks Past & Present'' (2003) *Dow, W: ''Finchcocks Collection, Catalogue: the Richard Burnett Collection of Historical Keyboard *Instruments'' (1989)

References

External links

Finchcocks Charity and Richard Burnett Heritage Collection

Finchcocks Residential Piano School
{{authority control Country houses in Kent Music museums in England Museums in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells Musical instrument museums in England Defunct museums in England Grade I listed houses in Kent Houses completed in 1725