Books › John Askew, the Stanhope violin maker, 1914 › scan 40
Scan 40
John Askew, the Stanhope violin maker, 1914
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 22. See the scan on archive.org.
1years and keen on making of violins, and, moreover, he was an excellent violinist, and in every way an accomplished musician who had many pupils and was teacher of local and other String bands. Probably Benson's enthusiasm induced Askew to study the violin and then to attempt the making of the instrument he began to worship.
3The schoolmaster was a linguist so far at least that he knew French, and amongst his books he had Vuillaume's works on "Antonio Stradivari," published in Paris in 1856. He read out passages and explained them to Askew and in fact the two collaborated almost night and day on the question of violin making. These two violin makers were good musicians. Askew, however, was not expert on the violin but became a more expert fiddle maker than the schoolmaster.
5They studied together their pet instrument and made copies together. Benson, who died before his friend's success in London in 1885, used to play with the late Joseph Roddam, son of the late Jonathan Roddam of Newhouse, Weardale, who was chief Agent for the Beaumont Lead Mines. The writer well remembers seeing and hearing these two
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