A Sturge Family Tree discovered in my attic in 1973 showed that my great grandmother appeared to belong to a very musical family in the Bristol area. According to the "tree," her father (Henry) was a musical instrument maker; so was her brother (Henry) - and her grandfather (another Henry!) had been "buried with musical honours" in 1784.

I noticed that the words "Friends" and "Meeting House" had been written alongside the names of earlier ancestors, so I wrote a brief note to the Quaker headquarters at Euston, inquiring about this rather unusual name - "Sturge." The reply made me very excited. The archives contained not only information about Quaker members of the family but some useful details concerning the "Musical Branch."

In the John Player "Annals of 1804" the librarian had found "One member of the family had a remarkable turn for music, one of whose descendants was buried at Stapleton, his corpse being accompanied from Bristol by the City Band of Musick (of which he was a member) who played the "Dead March In Saul."

Being eager to discover more, I visited a local library, and in the music section found a Victorian book entitled "Old Violins and Violin Lore," and under the list of makers found "H. Sturge (1811-53) Bristol, repairer Huddersfield." As well as being excited, I was amused to note that, in the list, "Sturge" appeared just below "Stradivari!"

During one of many visits to Bristol I called at an old musical instrument shop on Christmas Steps. Yes, the owner had heard of Sturge violins, but had not seen one for many years. I gave him my address and he promised to get in touch if such an instrument came his way.

It was not long after this that the 1980 Sturge Pilgrimage took place. Peter Sturge of Dorking told "Peterborough" of the "Daily Telegraph" newspaper about the forthcoming event and, after mentioning plans for the Family gathering, the report said "A search is on to find a Sturge violin." Sadly, although the Pilgrimage was a great success, and several musical "cousins" met for the first time, there was no news of such an instrument.

However, just one month later, some neighbours of Peter's were holidaying in Devon, spotted a violin in the window of an antique shop and under it was a card saying HENRY STURGE. The shop was closed; I was away on holiday; but eventually the violin was purchased and delivered to my home in Chester. Inside the instrument was a faded label which said "Henry Sturge violin maker Huddersfield anno 1842," which fitted the information in the old book.

Needless to say, I was delighted to have this wonderful heirloom. The case was rather shabby, but the violin and bow seemed in good repair. A reputable dealer examined it, had it re-strung, and said that it had a good tone. Although I had taught music for many years, I was no fiddler and felt very frustrated; but by a stroke of luck, help was at hand. I attended a concert by two local musicians. One played the piano and the other the violin. During the interval I had the opportunity to speak to them and mention my new acquisition. To cut a long story short, they visited my home, took away the violin and made a little tape-recording. They said I was fortunate to own such a good instrument.

Next came the problem of deciding which Henry had made the violin and what was the connection with Huddersfield? Finally, I came to the conclusion that the Maker was the brother of Mary Ann and the grandson of the Sturge buried at Stapleton.

This Henry seemed to enjoy moving house! He was christened in Bristol in 1807 and was the son of Henry Sturge and Mary Ann James who had a shop in Maudlin Lane. After 1832 his name disappeared from the Bristol directories. Could he have gone to Huddersfield? I carried out some research in Yorkshire and eventually tracked him down in Sheffield. He was mentioned in local directories, appeared in the 1851 Census (born in Bristol, 1807) and by this time had married a widow named Patience Aldridge. In the year of the census they had a son, Alfred William. For some reason they decided to move back to the West Country, and by 1864 had settled in Bath. Their new music shop was in Barton Street, a lovely historic spot in the heart of the city. Later researches had showed that before moving to Yorkshire, they had lived in Gloucester and in 1833 a son - another Henry! - was baptised there. Did he make violins and are there any more to be found?

Bristol's earliest directory for 1775 lists Harry Sturge of 6 Marlborough Street, cabinet maker. Many of the musical members of the family lived in this area. In Mark Street, a Greek restaurant stands on the site where Joseph Sturge had a Music Warehouse and Publishing shop. Another music shop was in St. Augustine's Parade, where the local hostelry "The Horn and Trumpet" would have been an appropriate meeting place for the musical Sturges. A visit to Bristol's Marlborough Street Coach Station is a nostalgic experience!