Joseph Turnbull

Joseph Turnbull (c.1725 – 1775) was a player of the Northumbrian smallpipes, and the first, in 1756, to be appointed Piper to the Countess of Northumberland. He is the earliest player of the instrument of whom a portrait survives, in the collection at Alnwick Castle. There is a copy in the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum. In this portrait, he is wearing a blue coat, which is known to have been the uniform of the Alnwick Town Waits. From the creation of the dukedom in 1766, Turnbull was known as Piper to the Duchess. The portrait is labelled "Piper to the Duchess", which may be a later error, or may suggest that it postdates the creation of the Dukedom. However Turnbull was first appointed in 1756, and the portrait must be later than this.

Early life

Little is known of Turnbull's early life. The crude estimate here of c. 1725 for his birth date is based on his apparent age in the portrait, made after his appointment as Piper to the Countess in 1756. However, he may be the Joseph Turnbull who married Elizabeth Charlton, at St. Nicholas' Church, on 4 May 1749; IGI estimates his birth year at about 1724, which is consistent with the apparent age of the piper .

The Angel Inn

In October 1760, he started to work as an innkeeper, running The Angel Inn, a large coaching inn in the centre of Alnwick. In his advertisements, he described himself as a 'Late servant to the Right Honourable the Earl and Countess of Northumberland',.^[1][2] As he continued to be piper to the Countess, he seems to have been referring to some other, former, appointment in the Earl's household. The inn was large and respectable - on Saturday 11 July 1767, an auction of a farm was held at The Angel;^[3] on 2 February 1771, 'a company of gentlemen' celebrated the 21st birthday of Lord Algernon Percy at the Angel;^[4] and the inn was used as an office for the collection of rents.^[5] In October 1773, when the Assize Court was in session, the judges invited the Duke to dinner at the Angel one night; the following night he entertained them at Alnwick Castle ^[6] Cockfights, then respectable and legal, were held in a pit behind the Angel - on one occasion for very substantial prizes of £25 and £50.^[7] In an advertisement in 1772, addressed to 'The Nobility and Gentry, and others, travelling the Great North Road between London and Edinburgh', he contradicted a 'malicious report' that service at The Angel had declined, assuring readers that business was conducted as before.^[8] This gives a clear idea of the clientele he hoped to attract.

Postmaster at Alnwick

In 1768 he also became the postmaster at Alnwick.^[9] According to the later account of William Green, himself a piper to the Duke, during this time William Cant (1751–1821), also a piper, worked for him as postboy, and learned with him. Green also stated that Turnbull was the best piper in the region, and that John Peacock, then a teenager, studied the pipes with Turnbull around this time, having initially learned from Old William Lamshaw (1712–1796).^[10] As Green was born in the year Turnbull died, he cannot have known him directly, but he is likely to have reported accurately what he was told about him when young, particularly by his uncle, Turnbull's pupil William Cant. Turnbull would have still been a recent memory when Green was learning the pipes.

Death

On 9 April 1775, Turnbull and a friend were riding back to Alnwick from a visit. When the friend dismounted, his horse ran off. Turnbull rode after and tried to stop it, but fell from his own horse, dying instantly of a fractured skull.^[11] Having died suddenly, he was intestate; the administratrix of the estate was his widow Elizabeth.^[12] Tragically, on 12 April, one Sarah Ann Cranston Turnbull, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth, was christened. Given the date, it seems likely that Joseph had been celebrating the birth of his daughter when the accident happened.

He was succeeded as piper to the Duchess by Old William Lamshaw . The Angel was taken over on his death by John Dodd.^[13] That seems to have been a temporary arrangement, as the tenancy was offered again the following year;^[14] in that advertisement we are given a detailed description of the establishment, with 'two large Dining rooms, fifteen Fire-rooms, two exceeding good Cellars, a convenient Brew-house, and Brewing Utensils, stabling for over thirty Horses, a Chaise-house, a Garden, and other conveniences.'

References