Margaret Debenham
B.A. Hons. (First Class), The Open University, 1990
Ph.D., Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, 2001
Historical Musicology
In retirement I have returned to my first love of Humanities and the Arts and since 2005 have been collaborating with
Professor George S. Bozarth of the University of Washington, Seattle, on an interesting research project concerning the work of the 18th — early 19th century Irish fortepiano maker William Southwell. The first fruits of our researches were published in the Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle in June 2009 (citation and abstract in Publications section below).
In May 2011 our paper was honoured by the award of the Frances Densmore Prize by the American Musical Instrument Society for 'the most outstanding article on musical instruments, written in English, during calendar 2009' (image © copyright M Debenham).
My interest in this field arose by serendipity over five years ago, as a result of genealogical family history research — a retirement project initially undertaken with my husband, Michael Debenham. In due course our investigations led to my contact with Professor Bozarth, and, in the fullness of time, to our co-operative research into the life and work of William Southwell. As a retired independent scholar, my time has been contributed to this latter project on a voluntary self-funded basis. Michael's researches, meanwhile, have focussed on the history of the Debenham family, conducted in conjunction with the Guild of One Name Studies (see the
Debenham and Debnam family history site).
Most of my research in this field is perforce undertaken from home, via the Internet and using e-mail, since declining health makes travel and spending time in archives impractical for me. Whilst in my case this approach has arisen from physical necessity, the constantly expanding ranges of indexes and original source material available on-line are creating exciting opportunities for all historical researchers. It is my intention to write up a research methods paper on my experiences of using the medium for this purpose in due course. I should also pay tribute here to the kind assistance I have received from family members and colleagues (they know who they are) who have on a number of occasions visited archives to look at documents 'in situ' on our behalf.
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Seeking information on extant Southwell pianofortes Professor George Bozarth and I have compiled a schedule of extant pianofortes by William Southwell and other members of his family, including his brother Nicholas, for inclusion in our forthcoming book. We would be very grateful to hear from anyone with any information on such instruments at any time. Please contact me if you can help!Our next piece of work, a book on the life and work of William Southwell, is currently under consideration for publication and as soon as further news on progress is available, we will provide an update here. |
Publications
George S. Bozarth and Margaret Debenham. 'Piano Wars: The Legal Machinations of London Pianoforte Makers, 1795-1806' in Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle Vol. 42 (2009). London: Royal Musical Association, pp 45-108. ISSN 1472-3808.
Abstract
In the years 1801-1806 a series of lawsuits were filed in various London courts involving many of England's top piano manufacturers. Swirling around a lawsuit by the Anglo-Irish piano inventor William Southwell against John and James Shudi Broadwood for infringement of his seminal 1794 patent were actions involving the opportunistic James Longman, his brother John Longman, his partner Francis Fane Broderip, and his successors, Muzio Clementi & Co. as well as George Astor, the firm of Culliford, Rolfe & Barrow, August Leukfeld, and George Wilkinson. In this article the authors reconstruct the issues and outcomes of these legal actions and their ramifications for William Southwell, who emerges as a victim of his own inventive success, and the nascent English piano industry. We draw upon the original court papers, as well as a family memoir of Southwell, the parish record of his burial in 1825, the 1802 partnership agreement of Southwell & Co., contemporary newspaper notices, prison records, apprenticeship records, the wills of several of the makers, and newly located original drawings and descriptions for patents by Southwell (1794) and his son William junior (1837), held at The National Archives, Kew.
For information on Royal Musical Association publications see www.rma.ac.uk/publications/
New information: December 2011
Forthcoming article
Margaret Debenham and Michael Cole: ‘Pioneer Piano Makers in London, 1740—1774: newly discovered documentary sources’; article accepted for publication in the next edition of the Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, to be published in 2013, hopefully available electronically as well as in hard copy.
Links to Musicology Sites
- David Hunt
- Friends of Square Pianos Webmaster: David Hackett.
- Michael Cole
- Royal Musical Association
- Square Piano Tech A resource for the restoration of 18th and early 19th Century Square Pianos. Webmaster: Tom Strange.
