MacKenzie, N.T. (his bagpipe)

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In November of 2015 I received the following email: “I have recently inherited my grandfather’s bagpipes. He was the last of three generations of renowned pipers. Son of Ronald Mackenzie and great nephew of John ‘Ban’ Mackenzie, my grandfather, Nicholson Thomas Mackenzie, died in Wales in the 1940s. His pipes, and there seems to be two sets, have been poorly looked after since. All the material was recycled during hard times after the Second World War and the solid wooden box that they are kept in has lived in cold damp attics ever since. There’s a shield on one piece that says they were a present to NTM for his birthday from his loving father 30 Oct 1892. I believe that Ronald was born in 1842, so this would have been the year of his retirement at 50. He was the Duke of R &G’s bagpiper from then so he would still have been using his own bagpipe long after 1892.”

John Ban MacKenzie had two brothers, Ronald and Alexander, and a sister (I have not found her name) Ronald was one of 80 Highland people who drowned, on 17 October 1825, when the steamer “Comet II” sank after a night time collision with another vessel. This was on the River Clyde, off Gourock, and the ship, which was travelling from Inverness to Glasgow via the Caledonian and Crinan Canals. The boats sank within 3 minutes. Ronald was piper to Sir Joseph Radcliffe and he was returning to Sir Joseph’s house, near Doncaster, after the Radcliffe family had rented Erchless Castle, in Strathglass, for a late Summer break. He was on the Comet with six servants who all perished. Ronald’s body was one of the first to be recovered, on October 18th 1825, and there is a monument erected to his memory in Greenock Cemetery. He was 22 years old.

The Ronald we will speak of here was John Ban’s nephew. We are uncertain which of John Ban’s siblings was the parent. He was born in 1842 and was a piper of considerable skill. He won the Gold Medal for former winners at the Northern Meeting in 1863 and 1875 and the Prize Pipe in 1873. He was also father to Nicholas Thomas MacKenzie (NTM), who was grandfather to the author of the words above.

The chanter on the left is stamped Jn McK and was also seen in the Donald MacKay exhibit.  The next two chanters are stamped similarly. The chanter on the right is believed to be for a set of bellows pipes. The small plaque on the bottom of the GHB chanter reads “Presented by Duncan McDougall,  To the best player of marches, Breadalbane Gathering, Aberfeldy, Aug 1877”.

The items above were those belonging to N.T. MacKenzie and stored in a damp attic for many years. They are now on display at the Centre For Piping in Glasgow for all to enjoy. The shield on the stock reads “The Bagpipe was Presented to N.T. MacKenzie A Birthday Gift from his Loving Father 30 October 1892. The bagpipe has a “David Glen” look to it however I cannot be certain. The bellows bagpipe is stamped “D. MacDougall”. These instruments and other artifacts are significant in preserving an important chapter in piping history. Many thanks to the MacKenzie family.

The set above, according to the note, was said to have been made by John Ban MacKenzie and presented to Murdo MacLennan (uncle of G.S. MacLennan) upon winning performances at the Northern Meeting in 1862.