Richard in demand after adding another string to his bow

A man who played the viola at prestigious venues is being kept busy after adding another string to his bow.

Richard and Elisabeth Wilson live on the outskirts of Berwick – Elisabeth formerly a violinist with The Royal Northern Sinfonia and Richard a violist who studied in London and Vienna, and performed with chamber and concert orchestras in London and France.

Richard Wilson in his workshop. Picture by Canon Alan Hughes.

placeholder image — Richard Wilson in his workshop. Picture by Canon Alan Hughes.

When living in Cambridgeshire, he became fascinated by the intricate and ancient craft of musical bow making and asked a bowmaker at Bury St Edmunds to teach him.

Richard decided to become a full-time maker of bows for string instruments and the couple moved north. His clientele has now developed to many parts of the world.

He hand crafts his pieces – cutting and fashioning the wood, making frog and adjusters on his lathe, stringing bows with horse hair and sending them all over the world in tubes by couriers.

A violin bow can comprise between 160 and 180 individual strands of horse hair.