THE North Yorkshire based last maker of pianos in the country says it has made the best of coronavirus lock-downs over the last 12 months.

Yorkshire Pianos at Bolton Abbey is currently the only piano maker in the country whose instruments, under the Cavendish name, are built wholly in the UK; and even though the shop was closed for long periods in recent months, the small, skilled staff has carried on making instruments.

Owner Adam Cox said: “The shop has been closed, but in terms of manufacturing it has given us more time and space , because we would normally be dealing with customers coming into the shop. We have had time to get on and make pianos.”

Councillor Jim Clark, who has just completed his time as chairman of North Yorkshire County Council, visited the workshop off the A59 as part of his plans to visit all 68 county council electoral divisions during his year in office.

He said: “I was amazed to visit this place. It is an excellent example of the business initiative that we associate with North Yorkshire. Not only has Adam built a unique business, but he has brought on a young staff and offered rare opportunities for what I am certain must be a most fulfilling apprenticeship.

Yorkshire Pianos has existed as a shop for 25 years, but began building pianos nine years ago, after Yamaha bought Kemble, the last UK manufacturer.

Adam trained at Leeds College of Music, taking a course in piano technology, before opening the shop.

He said: “As we say, after having done 15 years of market research, we started building pianos.

“Yamaha closed UK production of Kemble. That was the trigger. There was then a now or never moment when we thought there has been an unbroken chain of piano manufacture in the UK for nearly 200 years and if it misses a generation it will be pretty much the end of the line.

“We feel it is quite important to carry on with the tradition of piano making and, thankfully, it pays its way. We have quite young people with us who are starting off in the world of pianos and hopefully will carry on the tradition of piano making into the future.”

The business has a staff of six, including two apprentices. “We hope the apprentices will carry on and stay with us. We have a member of staff – also called Adam – who started as an apprentice over ten years ago and he now runs the workshop.”

Cllr Clark was able to see the Cavendish manufacturing process during his visit. Most are sold in the UK, but they also sell to China and Canada.

Adam added: “It is somewhere between a craft and an art. We like to think it’s more of an art, of course.”