Tuesday, 26-11-24: a visit to the Musical Museum - long post alert!

 The Musical Museum was founded in 1963 by a gentleman called Frank Holland (MBE) in a church on Brentford High Street.  It wasn't an ideal place for such a collection, being built of poor materials that didn't give the best conditions for old instruments so, in 2007 it relocated to a purpose built building nearby which not only provided ideal conditions for the now very valuable collection but also contains an excellent concert hall.

I got this photo from Google Images - it's the purpose built building that now houses the collection.  I wouldn't say is it beautiful but it serves its purpose, for sure.

Frank started collecting these at a time when many were being abandoned, thrown out or even burnt.  He salvaged many of the instruments you can see there, gathering around him others who were also very interested and, as volunteers, they worked to restore these rare items to playing condition.  When they moved, there was more room and so the collection grew.

Although the main purpose is restoration, the museum tries to preserve as much of the original as possible and, therefore, has instruments that will never be brought back to playing condition.

It is now a trust, helping to ensure the preservation of the collection for the future.

Basically, the museum focuses on what might be called early musical recording technology, ranging from tiny (and not so tiny) wind up musical boxes through self playing organs, pianolas and orchestrions that were wind up, clockwork or weight powered through to cylinder phonographs, an early jukebox and other electric powered items such as gramophones and stylus record players.  Many of these still work and we say several demonstrated.

Domestic instruments were often driven by foot pedals - the harder the bellows are pumped, the louder the noise.  I remember Dad played a bellows organ in the tiny Methodist chapel we attended as children and when he let me have a go, he had to pump the bellows because my little legs wouldn't reach!

They also have a wonderful 'Mighty Wurlitzer' which was the central instrument of the concert and is very, very impressive indeed.

Anyway - the visit.  We set off on a gloriously sunny Tuesday, making good time until, as always, we hit London and then it was bumper to bumper slow until we got to Brentford which is sort of North West, further west than Hammersmith and Kensington.  
So we arrived around twelve and we were greeted at the door by a couple of very welcoming staff who ushered us in and upstairs to the concert hall which was all set out with large, circular tables seating ten and the very welcome sight of coffee, tea and mince pies.  

While we were enjoying these, they explained about how the visit would be organised and then we split into two groups and off we set.  We focused on two rooms.  One held painolas, orchestrions, musical boxes, etc, and the other had the jukebox, record players and a most intriguing thing that played two violins as well as a piany and into which one had to insert an old penny before it would start.

We heard and saw many of them working and it was such fun.  The guides were so enthusiastic and so knowledgeable that it was infectious.
The only down thing was that one of our group had some sort of 'turn' and fainted with an almighty crash,  She was recovering by the end of the trip but had a cut on her nose and what was going to be a magnificent black eye, poor lady.  All a bit worrying but the museum's first aid routine swung into motion very efficiently and she was well looked after.

Here's some photos of what we saw in the first room

 

Many of the instruments could be played mechanically or manually and our first guide turned out to be a jolly good pianist!

There was plenty of technical info scattered around.

Watching this one play was great fun; they have a huge collection of rolls to go with their instruments.

In the second room we saw . . .

this intriguing machine that played two violins and a piano - not that they sounds like violins, more like cats yowling at each other, but it must have been the height of technology at the time and a wonderful thing to be able to see and hear.  This one was very special as there are only a few in the whole world that still work and it is very valuable.

The juke box does work but is temperamental and while it worked for the other group, it didn't for us.

My grandparents had a gramophone thingy very similar to this one, just a little larger.
I wonder what happened to it when Nanna moved after Grampy's death in 1970.  Thrown out, I expect - what a shame.

There was a big, comfortable chair in front of the one they had and I would curl up in it four hours and listen to my records or to their 78s, including 'Uncle Mac's favourite hymns for children' and party songs such as the Lambeth Walk, etc.

I was a bit of a lover of classical music starting in my teens, and one Christmas I asked for just classical records and, bless them, my parents and grandparents scoured the shops and second hand shops and gave me a wonderful collection that I listened to for the rest of our stay there.

They were very patient!

Fond memories!

Then we went back into the concert room (this was how the stage was set up) and there was prosecco all round (lovely) before the concert started.

It was a most enjoyable concert given by a couple, Chris and Joanne Powell.  Here's a link to a concert they gave at the museum last year - not a Christmas one and it is very long.  It was streamed live for patrons of the museum, I think.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j3YDiC_M8w

Anyway, Chris and Joanne were brilliant.  It was a Christmas concert, great for a sing along and they really showcased the instruments including the Mighty Wurlitzer, and not the least bit posh!

Thee was a screen behind and sometimes it showed words, sometimes pictures, sometimes close ups of the keyboard or the pedals and sometimes jokes to groan at.
I liked this one!

The afternoon tea during the interval was delicious.  Again, not posh, but very complete and I have never known an afternoon tea where staff came out with seconds and thirds as they did.  I'm afraid we had demolished the sandwiches before I thought to take a photo.

The music ranged from Christmas themed classical music, through music from the wars, fifties music from the likes of Elvis, a lovely selection of songs from the Seekers, such as Morningtown Ride and The Carnival is Over' (great to sing to) plus some more modern Christmas songs, a selection of Christmas Carols and finishing off, of course, with White Christmas.

Believe me, we sang our socks off and it was just lovely.  We felt so very Christmassy by the end.

Here's a link to some info on Chris and Joanne.  They really were very, very good.

https://www.chrisjopowell.org/

And that was about it.  Both staff and Chris and Joanne came out to wave us off and to thank us for being a lovely audience - wasn't that nice and friendly - and we were back at the carpark by seven thirty after negotiating the London rush hour.  I may, just possibly, have nodded off at some point because it seemed to go very quickly.  :-)

My Dad would have absolutely loved this - he was very enthusiastic about that sort of thing.  Maybe he did go at some point.  I hope so as it would have rejoiced his heart.

This was a lovely visit, possibly the nicest coach trip I have been on, made even more special by the welcoming and very friendly staff of the museum.
They do lots of events through the year.  Several concerts, both Christmas and other, a silent panto featuring the Wurlitzer, of course, Tea Dances and so on and I believe these include a tour of the museum and refreshments.

If you get the chance, it is well worth a visit.  This was the first from our particular group but Jan and Ray said they will now make this a regular on their list of trips and visits.
Maybe I will come back again next year . . .