Muckle Jock Milburn
John Milburn (1754 – 1837), known as Muckle Jock ('muckle' is
These pipes were used as a model for new instruments, made by James Robertson of Edinburgh, during the revival of the Border pipes in the 1920s – such an instrument is shown at.[3] These were given a different drone configuration from the original, however; Milburn's pipes had a bass drone, together with two tenors an octave above it, while the Robertson pipes had a bass, a baritone drone a fifth higher, and a tenor at the octave.
Muckle Jock was described by Dr. Edward Charlton, who knew him, as "one of the last of the old Borderers", "a gigantic man ... as famous for the power of his lungs, as for his prowess in clearing a fair or emptying a keg of whisky".[4] Charlton later wrote of him remembering more than once clearing the Bellingham Fair ground, with the Tarset and Tarretburn men at his back, to the old border cry of "Tarset and Tarretburn, Hard and heather-bred, YET-YET-YET!".[5] A later account,[6] makes clear that such a cry was the likely prelude to a fight. His association with the people of the Tarset area suggests that Muckle Jock originally came from Upper North Tynedale, towards the Border, rather than Bellingham itself.
Muckle Jock claimed descent from a
Muckle Jock died in April 1837, near Bellingham, "respected by a large circle of friends". He had worked as an auctioneer for 53 years, and was "justly celebrated for his judgment of stock".[8]
References
- ^ "Collection Detail". 5 September 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "National Museums of Scotland - Set of Northumbrian or Half-long bagpipes". Nms.scran.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Newcastle Courant". 15 October 1858. Retrieved 13 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Newcastle Courant". 9 September 1870. Retrieved 13 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Newcastle Daily Chonicle". 31 August 1863. Retrieved 13 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Edward Charlton (1871). Memorials of North Tynedale and its four surnames. Newcastle. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Newcastle Journal". 29 April 1837. Retrieved 13 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.