It has been challenging to piece together the Henderson history as told by the instruments that remain with us today. Often times, the stated age of a Henderson bagpipe is inaccurate simply because there is so little reliable information. I have recently been very fortunate to have encountered some very early Henderson bagpipes and offer this information up to the reader here.
Good friend Don Bradford acquired the bagpipe pictured immediately below. Along with the bagpipe came the original receipt, in Peter’s hand and signed by him on May 1st, 1895. This is stunning and an incredible artifact.
The Henderson bagpipe (directly above and below) came to me in original condition needing only a bit of TLC. Unlike Don’s bagpipe, this Henderson was made in African Blackwood. The earliest reported Henderson bagpipe made of ABW was in 1882 for William MacLeod of the Govan Police Pipe Band. This bagpipe eventually became the property of PM Willie Gray. ABW first appeared on the Henderson price list in 1900 at a premium of 10 shillings.
This bagpipe has more than a couple of secrets. If you look closely at the bottom of the bass drone stock, you’ll see the remnants of tiny nails that probably held a plaque or shield at one time. Considering when it was made, it is entirely possible that this was a presentation set.
This bagpipe lines up almost perfectly with the 1895 Henderson belonging to Don Bradford above.
I seldom consider the pipe chanter when trying to determine the make or age of an instrument. There are exceptions to this, of course. We know that David Glen changed his stamp to David Glen & Sons in 1912. We know that R. G. Hardie changed the profile of their chanter in the early 1960’s from going straight into the sole to having a “bullnose” where the sole meets the chanter. Sinclair had a few different aesthetic changes over the years. In the case of Peter Henderson, the shape of the bulb changed from that of a wine glass to more of a goblet right after Peter’s death in 1902. We know this looking at Henderson chanters with hallmarked silver. The chanter on the subject bagpipe is very much shaped like a wine glass. The stamp also has a bearing. During Peter’s lifetime, his pipes and chanters were stamped “P Henderson Glasgow”. Thereafter the stamp was changed to “P. Henderson Ltd.”
This final example is in cocuswood and is owned by Austin Diepenhorst. These early Henderson drones had a “flat” with dual scribe lines just under the cord-holders. This sometimes appeared on just the tenor drones and other times on all three. As time went on the flat area became small and then finally disappeared altogether by around 1910. Cocuswood was the hardest of the tropical hardwoods and details (combing) hold up wonderfully. Bagpipes made of cocuswood and ebony generally run arrow-straight. I also find that the very oldest ABW drones run true as well.
