Joseph Turnbull
| Joseph Turnbull | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1725 |
| Died | 1775 (aged 49–50) |
| Occupation(s) | Piper |
| Instruments | Northumbrian smallpipes |
Joseph Turnbull (c.1725 – 1775) was a player of the Northumbrian smallpipes, and the first, in 1756, to be appointed Piper to the Countess of Northumberland. He is the earliest player of the instrument of whom a portrait [1] survives, in the collection at Alnwick Castle. There is a copy in the Morpeth Chantry Bagpipe Museum. In this portrait, he is wearing a blue coat, which is known to have been the uniform of the Alnwick Town Waits. From the creation of the dukedom in 1766, Turnbull was known as Piper to the Duchess. The portrait is labelled "Piper to the Duchess", which may be a later error, or may suggest that it postdates the creation of the Dukedom. However Turnbull was first appointed in 1756, and the portrait must be later than this.
Little is known of Turnbull's early life. The crude estimate here of c. 1725 for his birth date is based on his apparent age in the portrait, made after his appointment as Piper to the Countess in 1756. However, he may be the Joseph Turnbull who married Elizabeth Charlton, at St. Nicholas' Church, on 4 May 1749; IGI estimates his birth year at about 1724, which is consistent with the apparent age of the piper [2].
In October 1760, he started to work as an innkeeper, running The Angel Inn, a large coaching inn in the centre of Alnwick. In his advertisements, he described himself as a 'Late servant to the Right Honourable the Earl and Countess of Northumberland',. As he continued to be piper to the Countess, he seems to have been referring to some other, former, appointment in the Earl's household. The inn was large and respectable - on Saturday 11 July 1767, an auction of a farm was held at The Angel; on 2 February 1771, 'a company of gentlemen' celebrated the 21st birthday of Lord Algernon Percy at the Angel; and the inn was used as an office for the collection of rents. In October 1773, when the Assize Court was in session, the judges invited the Duke to dinner at the Angel one night; the following night he entertained them at Alnwick Castle Cockfights, then respectable and legal, were held in a pit behind the Angel - on one occasion for very substantial prizes of £25 and £50. In an advertisement in 1772, addressed to 'The Nobility and Gentry, and others, travelling the Great North Road between London and Edinburgh', he contradicted a 'malicious report' that service at The Angel had declined, assuring readers that business was conducted as before. This gives a clear idea of the clientele he hoped to attract.
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