Luthier turns oak tables into handcrafted violins

A luthier said he has broken away from tradition to make violins out of disused oak tables.

Andy Parish, from Doddington, Cambridgeshire, works as a project manager by day but in his spare time runs Heart of Oak Fiddles, which he founded two years ago after teaching himself how to build violins from an online series.

Parish said that traditionally violins were made from spruce and maple, but that oak "resonates beautifully".

One of his violins is owned by the musician Kerenza Peacock, who said she hoped to play the instrument when she performs at the Proms as part of the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Parish said he sources the oak tables through recycling centres, online auction sites and has had them donated to his workshop.

He added he enjoyed bringing life back to the material, which may have been around as a table for a century.

"When I get a table, I think about all the Christmas and Sunday dinners that have been served on it, all the family arguments that took place around it, I think all that stuff is absorbed into the grain," he said.

Parish added that as a relatively unknown luthier it was important he raised the visibility of his violins.

"Just to get their feedback, I sent a free fiddle to both Eliza Carthy and Nancy Kerr and have subsequently met them and they were very happy with the instruments," he said.

Parish said he has taken his instruments to folk festivals this summer, including in Cambridge and Ely.

At Ely Folk Festival he said he met Peacock, a professional violinist who played with Rod Stewart at Glastonbury last year, as well as Sienna Spiro and Olivia Rodrigo.

Peacock said she might play the violin, which was formerly wooden table, at Glastonbury Festival next year.

"I am performing at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Proms this year and will ask them if I can use the Heart of Oak violin there," she said.

Parish admitted that despite his love for the violin he cannot play one.

"I tried to play Little Donkey for the family around the Christmas table last year and got booed off," he said.

Parish said that he could exchange the skill of making a violin for the skill of playing one, he would "do it in a heartbeat".

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.