Hatchlands Park is a red-brick country house with surrounding gardens in East Clandon, Surrey, England, covering 170 hectares (430 acres).

Edward Boscawen's widow, Fanny sold the estate in 1770 to the Sumner family of the East India Company; both father and son made further alterations to the property.

Rendel was mainly his own architect but he also employed his nephew by marriage, Halsey Ricardo, and commissioned Reginald Blomfield to build the Music Room.

Rendel coloured and gilded Robert Adam's ceilings, embellished the staircase with rococo decorations and switched the main entrance of the house to the east.

The pieces were brought together to represent those instrument makers who were highly regarded or patronised by composers, rather than to illustrate a complete or technical history of keyboard manufacture.

Twelve of the instruments were actually owned or played by great composers such as Purcell, J. C. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mahler and Elgar.