W.E. Hill & Sons Firm

With a history spanning over a hundred years, W.E. Hill & Sons was the preeminent British violin- and bow-making firm of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Luthier William Ebsowrth Hill founded the London workshop in 1880, and his skill for restoration immediately set him apart. Under Hill’s son, Alfred, the firm became known for expert craftsmanship and historical expertise, with an emphasis on the Cremonese masters. 

In addition to its restoration work, the W.E. Hill & Sons’ approach to bow making was particularly successful. Alfred Hill’s model combined elements of Tourte and Voirin to create a distinctive bow making style that was very uniform, and distinctive. The workshop employed some of the twentieth century’s best English bow makers, including James Tubbs, Samuel Allen, William Charles Retford, and Albert Leeson.