Grainger & Campbell
Grainger and Campbell made bagpipes in Glasgow from 1946 until 1989. Some notable points in their history:
1952 – G & C took over Duncan MacRae’s shop in Glasgow.
1962 – Donald MacLeod becomes manager of the shop.
1980 – Donald MacLeod retires, Robert Wallace and Sir Patrick Grant take over.
This set is catalin mounted, from 1972 -
Tenor Shoulders. Later into the 70's and early 80's the shoulders became even more squared off than this.
Tenor bells
Very unique shape to the projecting mounts
Bottom mounts
Bass bell
Thanks to Bill O’Brien for the following pictures -
A beautiful silver and ivory set from 1972. Note the size and shape of the mounts.
Silver hallmark, the town or "hall" mark is an anchor which stands for Birmingham, the standard mark is a Lion Passant, the date letter "X" is for 1972
A look at the tenor ringcaps, with hallmark visible on the left one.
Side profile of the bass drone shoulder and combing. G & C's were quite square cut
Bass drone bell has a pudgy look to it.
they are identical in age and mounts to mine, i inherited them from my first teacher ,they were bought new for him as his 70th birthday gift from his family! when he passed away aged 93 they were given to me as in the terms of his will
They are identical to mine as well, except mine were made in 1969. Geoff Niegh had originally owned mine and may have bought them from Donald MacLeod.
The pictures here are the closest match to a set that I found just a few days ago at a antique shop on private property. I asked the lady if she would just let me look and show me around! Because they where closed, and had been closed for a while, not to re open for a few weeks. She took me to one room that she called the music room. I have been waitng for years to find and old set of pipes, and there they where. She had them sitting there for 20 years. She said after I bought them, she got more than what she paid. It was a risk, they had a paki bag, reeds, chanter. So, I looked them over, and said this is what I will give you for them. She took the offer…….$175.00 cash!!
My first set of pipes were G&C, given to me in 1975, at first on a long-term loan basis, then eventually gifted to me by a Doctor who lived in Spokane, Washington. I have no idea how old they are. They are ABW and imitation ivory. I drilled the top section of the bass drone out a bit larger to give it a fuller bass sound and then used them for years. They sound very nice. I still have them.
my set of pipes was a Christmas present 15 years ago, my parents picked them up when i was an army Cadet, the chanter is labelled Grainger, but for some reason i always thought that the chanter and the rest of the set were mismatched. it was hard to figure out for sure that long ago, but im glad someone took the time to compile this info, feels great to know for sure i have a complete and original set