Peckham Harpsichords
The Tythe Barn, BN8 5RH
Lewes, East Sussex
Business profile
Early keyboard instruments based on historical models from different periods and parts of Europe, following traditional construction methods and materials. Other services: Tuning, Stringing, Voicing, Maintenance & Repair Bespoke Furniture & other commissions. I also make one-off chests, cabinets, furniture and stands for other instruments. Established in 2012. Peckham Harpsichords begun in a small storage unit in South London towards the end of 2012. I started by restoring a couple of revival instruments by de Blaise & Sperrhake, gradually moving towards more historically informed harpsichords. Soon the unit filled up with projects, timber, tools & machinery and it was time to set up a proper workshop, so in the summer of the following year I moved to Lewes in East Sussex. My interest in harpsichords begun when I discovered a magnificent instrument (by John Horniblow, after Hitchcock) hidden in a corner behind a stack of chairs in the music room at school. I was fascinated by its two keyboards, the clockwork-like mechanism and the fantastic roar it made. After studying music in London and being out in the world for a few years, I started exploring the possibility of making harpsichords as a career.