MacDougall, Duncan (Misc.)

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This bagpipe was owned for many years by Hector MacLean, a pupil of Willie MacLean and John MacDonald of Inverness. His great great grandfather, Neil MacLean, won the first prize at the Falkirk competition in 1783. He was also piper to Campbell of Airds and then piper to the Highland Society of London.

Hector’s great grandfather, Allan MacLean, was piper to MacLean of Ardgour and won first prize at the Edinburgh competition in 1810. Hector himself was the piper to the Captain of Dunstaffnage. He served during WWI with The Scottish Horse and The Black Watch. He also served in WWII as a member of the Dunbartonshire Home Guard Pipe Band. He was a prominent member of the Scottish Pipers’ Association during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1950 he was Pipe Major of the Babcock and Wilcox Pipe Band.

When this bagpipe was acquired from the MacLean family, a very faint stamp was present on the chanter, which was assumed to be original to the bagpipe. “I could see an “M” and the “c” along with part of the R and one “e”. As well part of “Glasgow”. The stamp was mistaken for “MacPhee” at the time. I wish I had a picture of that stamp, however as you can imagine, it would be difficult to photograph with clarity.

Quite recently (October 2019) word came to the owner that Hector MacLean’s great grandniece had discovered a note in Hector’s archive (written in 1957) to say that they were MacDougall pipes, a century old, with a MacRae chanter. There is little here that resembles a Duncan MacDougall bagpipe as we generally have come to know them. That said, we will accept this information until something tells us otherwise.

This instrument was refurbished by Dunbar Bagpipes in St. Catharines, who confirmed that it is ebony and ivory, The metal is a mix of engraved and plain Sheffield Plate silver along with hallmarked sterling silver pieces. The stocks and ferrules are replacements made by Peter Henderson Ltd. and hallmarked 1938. Although somewhat risky to do so, I am assuming that the replacement stocks are similar in style to the original stocks, which would be similar in profile to early Duncan MacDougall stocks. I’m not reaching any conclusion here. Just pointing things out.

This bagpipe was inspected at the College of Piping in August 2005, The following was their recap.

  1. Mouthpiece is solid silver by Peter Henderson 1951
  2. Ferrules on stocks are solid silver Peter Henderson 1938
  3. Items 1 & 2 are later additions to the instrument
  4. The bagpipe is at least 100 years old but the style is unusual (perhaps unique) so it is difficult to be precise.
  5. We have not been able to determine the maker. There appears to be the remains of a maker’s name on the chanter but insufficient for a positive identification. Somewhere out there someone will have the forensic skills and knowledge!
  6. It has been suggested that the pipe box is the sort that Henderson used to supply with bagpipes, but is is not necessarily contemporary with the instrument.
  7. The metal mounts on the bagpipe are silver-plate but of excellent quality.
  8. We are unable to determine the type of wood used….African Blackwood or ebony.

This underscores the challenges in identifying old bagpipes. History has a way of blurring or concealing the truth, sometimes for centuries. There is so much more to learn. I am grateful to those who have contributed to this museum and hopeful that others will continue to do so.