Thomas Earle Hesketh

HESKETH, Thomas Earle Born 1866, died 1945 Manchester UK. Pupil of G. A. Chanot 1885-1891. Established independently in Oxford Street, Manchester 1891. One of the better English makers of his time. Fine and idiosyncratic work on Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri models; also personal patterns. His own spirit and oil varnish, sometimes with shaded ‘antique’ finish in appropriate colours. Many instruments made for him by his employee Paul Voigt. Some instruments branded: ‘T. E. H.’. Printed label: Thomas Earle Hesketh TEH / Manchester. Fecit 1900

He is the son of William and Amelia Hastings Hesketh, and was born in Manchester on August 14, 1866. His workshop is at 23 Lower Mosley Street. His mother’s maiden name was Hilton, and both his parents were descendants of old Lancashire families. He was educated in the Board and Higher Grade Schools of his native city. He was apprenticed to Mr. G. A. Chanot, and the indentures were drawn up on April 6, 1885. He remained as apprentice for five years and as journeyman for one year. In 1891 he commenced business on his own account, and he has remained since at the above address. He was married on Nov. 2, 1889, at St. James’ Church, Moss Side, to Miss Sarah Grace Yates. The offspring of their union are : Ross Grace, Tom, Florence Gertrude, Lillian Jane, and Dorothy Yates.

He works on each of the following models : Strad, Joseph, Amati, Ruggeri, Stainer, and Maggini, but copies the two first principally. He at one time worked also on two original models, which he has now discarded, as they were on the small side. A third original model of his, of fuller proportions, is successful and gives splendid results. Its dimensions are : —

Length … 14 ins,Width across upper bouts . . . 6 21/32ins,Width across middle bouts . . . 4 19/32ins,Width across lower bouts … 8 7/32ins,Length of inner bouts from corner to corner … 5 5/32ins,Length of sound-holes … 3 3/32ins,Distance between sound-holes at upper turns … 1 5/8ins,Height of ribs 1 1/4ins, diminishing to … 1 7/32ins,

Two noticeable features of this model are the ff-holes and the button. The former are a slight modification of the Brescian type, and the latter is not of the usual form, but four-sided.

Mr. Hesketh has made several magnificent copies of an A. and H. Amati viola. One of these which I examined recently was made to the order of Mr. Rawdon Briggs, of Halle’s, the Brodsky, and other quartettes. It is of large size, and considered by its owner a superb instrument. Its dimensions are : —

Length… 16 5/8ins,Width, top … 7 7/8ins,Width, centre … 5 1/4ins,Width, bottom … 9 3/4ins,Depth of bottom ribs … 1 9/16ins, (diminished by 1/8ins, at top)

Besides the violas on the A. and H. Amati model, he has made one on the Strad model, 15 3/4in., one Ruggeri, 16 1/8in., and one Maggini, 15 7/8 in. He has made only two ‘cellos, Strad model. The total number of instruments made up to date is fifty-five, exclusive of a number of three-quarter size fiddles, made to order.

Mr. Hesketh’s wood is of excellent quality. He possesses a considerable quantity which was formerly the property of Craske. This latter maker is said to have bought his wood at Forster’s sale. The maple of two fiddles examined by me was somewhat plain in figure, but magnificent for its tonal properties. In one viola the curl was of medium width and of mathematical regularity. In another fiddle the wood had a broad ” flame ” of unsurpassable beauty. The pine is of straight grain, moderately narrow in ” reed,” and acoustically perfect. The backs in the Amati copies are usually cut on the slab, and those in the Strad and Joseph copies are, as a rule, either whole or joined.

The workmanship, varnish, and tone of Hesketh combine to give his instruments a place among the elite of modern productions, and a high seat even amongst the mighty. A brief description of a typical example of his work will suffice. This is a Vuillaume-Strad copy. The outline is very pure, and the modelling beautiful. The lines of the back are gracefulness itself. The gentle slope of the arching, as it melts into the margins, is like the swell of the well-chiselled breast of a goddess. The margins are moderately wide, and the edges full and rounded. The corners are full and piquant. The scroll and sound-holes both show the master mind and the cunning hand. The former is in the true Stradivarian spirit, although, perhaps, to be severely correct, the slope of the volute in its departure from the boss is not of the same angle, and the boss itself is in greater relief. The purfling is laid in without the suspicion of a tremor. The varnish is a rich, soft, dark, golden amber. It lights up the ” flame ” of the wood, which appears like watered silk seen through a film of stained glass. The tone is large, rich, and responsive. Hesketh uses both oil and spirit varnishes, of his own composition, and in all the usual colours.

The work is nearly all personal. One journeyman, named Robert Elliot Keen, is employed. Keen has been with Hesketh six years (five years as apprentice), and is an excellent and steady workman. He hails from Brompton, the birthplace of the Forsters. Another workman, named Georges Boulangeot, of Mirecourt, was employed for about two years, but he left in 1898. Mr. Hesketh repairs very extensively. So many old instruments come to him for repair that he is prevented from producing many new ones.

His prices are : — Violins …. £12, 12s. and £15, 15s. Violas £15, 15s. ‘Cellos 25 guineas.

Mr. Hesketh plays well on both the violin and viola. He has recently organised a series of quartette concerts, at which the Rawdon Briggs and other quartettes are the executants. These quartettes are supplied with instruments made by him, and one of the objects of the concerts is to test and to demonstrate the worth of instruments of the modern British school.

Lernte fünf Jahre bei George Adolphus Chanot und war dann noch ein Jahr lang Gehilfe bei ihm. Im Jahre 1891 eröffnete
er seine eigene Werkstatt. Er arbeitet hauptsächlich nach Stradivari und Guarneri, aber auch nach Maggini, Amati und Stainer und verwendet einen Öllack. Er gehört zu den besten englischen Geigenmachern der Gegenwart; seine Biographie veröffentlichte Meredith-Morris in der Zeitschrift »The Strad«. 1899. No. 119.