Hugh Robertson

Hugh Robertson (1730–1822) was a Scottish wood and ivory turner and a master crafter of woodwind instruments such as pastoral pipes, union pipes, and great Highland bagpipes. Biography Robertson was born in 1730 in Scotland although the exact date is not known. Possibly born in Edinburgh where he lived and worked for the majority of his life till his retirement at the age of 90 in 1821. Hugh Robertson is noted as one of the earliest professional Scottish pipe makers of the 18th century, in a career spanning 58 years. Robertson pipes are hallmarked from 1765, and by 1775 and he is recorded in the directory of tradesmen as a ‘pipe maker’ trading from Castle Hill Edinburgh. Robertson had a wide and highly crafted repertoire of a maker of great Highland bagpipes, pastoral pipes sometimes termed in Edinburgh as the "flat-set of pipes" and Union pipes. Robertson instruments The first commercial bagpipe makers were prior to 1750 in Edinburgh and Glasgow and skilled musical instrument makers were often wood turners by profession, and began to craft instrument to a design individual to the makers style and innovations. Several well established 18th-century instrument makers are recorded at this time; i.e. Donald MacDonald of Edinburgh and Malcolm MacGregor of Glasgow diversifying and making a variety of pipes. Robertson was no exception and in his designs, added decoration of 'beading' and 'combing' style on Highland bagpipes which in turn was adopted as standard by the late 18th century and has remained unchanged since then. He crafted the Edinburgh prize Great Highland pipe of 1802, which was later played at the battle of waterloo by piper John Buchanan, pipe major of the Black Watch.