Historic Victorian piano back on display at Northumberland's Cragside after 150 years
The latest addition to National Trust Cragside’s collection of historic items is a Broadwood piano with a dramatic story behind it.
The story begins with Victorian touring star pianist Arabella Goddard. Hailed as a child prodigy and performing in front of Queen Victoria at just nine years old, she was revered as ‘The Queen of Pianists’.
In 1872, she set sail on a world tour, taking her grand piano across oceans. But riddled with bad luck, on the way to Australia she was marooned off the coast of Queensland when the RMS Flintshire ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
Arabella had to spend a night in an open topped boat while the piano was left behind and became used as ballast to keep the ship afloat. She was recovered along with her piano and baggage a week later.
In Sydney, Arabella’s agent fell out with the manager of the Victoria Theatre over a shared billing with a local ‘Burlesque Opera’ performer.
The refusal to share the stage was made public by a scandalous letter, supposedly written by Arabella which overtly mocked and insulted the Australian performers and audiences.
Arabella denied authorship but had to flee Sydney and leave the piano behind once more. It was held to ransom by the theatre manager for several months before negotiations secured its release.
The piano resurfaced in London in May 1875 and was purchased by Cragside’s creator, William Armstrong, for a sum of 250 guineas – roughly £26,000 in today’s money.
It was transported to his home in Northumberland where it was showcased in the Drawing Room. The piano remained at Cragside until at least 1901, but after that its whereabouts are unknown for over a century.
Spring forward to 2006 and the piano reappears at an auction where it is purchased by private buyers for just £85.
They carried out extensive research and confirmed it as Arabella Goddard’s piano. The couple generously gave the piano to Cragside exactly 150 years after it was originally purchased by Armstrong.
The piano is now back on display in the Drawing Room at Cragside. Work to conservation clean the piano is underway, and it will be tuned over the coming weeks for pop-up performances during the festive season.