Robert Reid (pipemaker)

Robert died in North Shields on the 13th or 14 January 1837, and his death notice in the Newcastle Journal referred to him as a "piper, and as a maker of such instruments is known from the peer to the peasant, for the quality of their tone, and elegance of finish".

She later wrote to J. W. Fenwick, and he stated that the set of "Dorrington Lads" was as played by Robert Reid, and his son James, also his daughter Elizabeth Oliver; in a letter to Fenwick in 1883, she said it was "most likely the same copy that poor Will Allen was trying to play when his Spirit was called Home to a more blissful rest."

A complex variation set on "Maggie Lauder" in Fenwick's manuscript collection, not in his hand, is stated by him to be Mrs. Oliver's copy, 'as she had learned it from her father'.

[4] Simple closed chanter smallpipes had existed since the late 17th century (possibly being described in the Talbot manuscript from about 1695) but became standard in Northumberland during the 18th.

Francis Wood, himself a pipemaker, has written [7] "From an instrument maker’s perspective, the Reid chanters appear extraordinary objects, a fine example of ideal design, which mysteriously seems to have emerged fully formed without any apparent evolution with the exception of the rare examples of 6 key chanters lacking the D sharp key.

Some changes of detail occur throughout Reid’s career but what remains evident and constant is the extreme economy and functionality of the design, in which little is purely decorative.

The outline of the keys remains close to the chanter stem with no part unduly projecting, a particularly neat construction that reduces the vulnerability of the keywork to accidental damage.

Players will notice an immediately comfortable hold on the chanter, with keywork that is lightly and evenly sprung and with pleasantly rounded key-touches which accommodate differing angles of finger action.