restoration of the 1772 Kirckman Harpsichord at Dumfries House

In 2020 I was asked to restore the 1772 Kirckman double harpsichord at Dumfries House in Ayrshire. This instrument was probably bought new for the house and has been there ever since with only very brief interruptions. It is a good example of Kirckman's standard double with no extras (such as a swell or machine stop) with his usual decoration, in this case walnut veneer. As a result of not having been played a great deal and having been kept in a house that has been unoccupied for sometimes lengthy periods (and presumably therefore not very well heated) it is in quite good condition for its age. It has been restored twice before and the restorers both recorded their work on the back of the name board: John Denham, 'organist to Lord Bute' in 1888, and CLR Ward in 1968.

The harpsichord itself did not need very much structural work. There was a split in the distal section of the wrest plank which was quite awkward to fix, and 2 sections of the 8 foot hitch pin rail had slightly parted away from the sides of the case. There were some minor splits in the soundboard. The very sophisticated but slightly flimsy music desk needed some more substantial repairs. Apart from that most of my work consisted in restringing with historically correct brass and iron wire (from Stephen Birkett in Canada), and re-quilling and voicing with goose feathers.

Owing to the covid-19 pandemic the harpsichord could not be immediately returned to the house when it was ready, and this resulted in two happy consequences. Firstly I had a historical harpsichord to play for a few months which was good for both me and it, and secondly, by kind permission of the Princes Foundation, and with the support of the donor who paid for the restoration it was used for a recording of sonatas by John Worgan, played by Julian Perkins.

The harpsichord was returned to the house in October 2020 and it is the intention of the Foundation to make sure that it is used regularly for practise and recitals.

Some interesting observations about the harpsichord:

1. I noticed that the spine/tail corner seemed higher than the others - the inlaid line inside was parallel with the hitch-pin rail but not with the top of the case. So I measured the case height all round:
   Spine/tail corner:  313
   Tail/bent-side corner: 306
   Middle of bent-side: 308
   Bent-side/cheek corner: 311
   Cheek front: 320
   Spine front: 320
   Middle of spine: 315
   This is a difference of half an inch between the highest and lowest points which is very surprising. The lid has conformed to the lack of flatness of the top of the instrument over the years and closes satisfactorily and there seem to be no other consequences apart from the odd appearance of the inlaid line.

2. The casters are surprisingly sophisticated for 1772, having little wheels incorporated into the design to take some of the weight off the swivel axle. They are certainly original though, as the legs have been made to fit them with a reverse taper (wider at the bottom) to accommodate the fixing plate.

3. Although most jacks are original one has been replaced: no. 60 in the lute register. The replacement is probably an original Kirckman jack taken from another instrument and its tongue had been re-morticed to take a leather plectrum and then plugged again for a quill. This tongue was replaced. It also originally had 2 damper slots one of which has been filled.

4. There are 2 jacks numbered 26 in the front 8 foot register.

5. One ivory front touch-plate in the upper manual (the lowest E) has been replaced. The replacement ivory was thinner than Kirckman's and has been shimmed with veneer to bring it up to the correct level.

6. The horizontal inlaid stringing in the name-board is book-matched in the bottom line but not in the top.