W.E. Hill & Sons

The W.E. Hill & Sons company began in 1880/81 when William Ebsworth Hill (1817-1895) brought his sons Alfred (1862-1940) and Arthur (1860-1939) into his existing business.

By 1890 a group of French makers had been recruited to make and repair in the W.E. Hill & Sons workshops. In order of arrival these were: Joseph Auguste Prunier (1857-1913), Charles François Langonet II (1860-1929), Charles Louis Délunet (1865-1930), Auguste Émile (Léon) Délunet (1868-1939), Joseph Maurice Somny (1865-1931),Charles Séverin Génin (1865-1907) and François(Eugène) Marchand (1872-1916).

Initially the company was based in Wardour Street but by October 1887 it had opened up at 38 Bond Street and had acquired Heath Lodge, Hanwell; the first of a number of property acquisitions there.

The earliest instruments were primarily the work of Prunier, Langonet and Charles Délunet, as time went on other makers contributed to the output producing both first quality instruments with the full ‘W.E. Hill & Sons’ label and their second quality ‘Workshop of W. E. Hill & Sons’ insturments. The first category instruments were made in the company workshops in Hanwell and, generally, varnished and set up in Bond Street, the second category, ironically given their label, were sometimes not made entirely in the workshops but partly in the homes of Hill workers and brought in – a way of gaining a little extra money for the employees.

See, John Basford and Tim Toft, W.E. Hill & Sons: Violin Makers 1880-1936, Colley Books Ltd, 2020