The Threat to Newark’s Instrument Making Programme: A Loss for Heritage and Conservation
The Newark School of Violin Making’s current home at 38 Kirk Gate, Newark-on-Trent. Image from The Strad News.
It has recently been confirmed that Lincoln College will not be accepting new students onto its degree programme in Musical Instrument Craft at the Newark School of Violin Making for the 2025–26 academic year. This includes the violin, piano, guitar, and woodwind making pathways. The decision has serious implications not only for instrument making, but for conservation practice and heritage crafts more broadly. Once lost, these specialised skills are difficult to recover.
Applicants were informed on 8 May, and while current students will be allowed to complete their studies, the future of these degree programmes remains uncertain. The decision is said to be the result of declining application numbers. Lincoln College has clarified that these courses are self-funded and that the small group of incoming applicants has been redirected elsewhere. While the Violin School itself remains open, the loss of these degree programmes marks a significant shift for an institution that, since its founding in 1972, has gained an international reputation for its rigorous training and commitment to traditional craft.
Why This Matters
The Newark School of Violin Making has been instrumental in preserving endangered skills within the field of musical instrument craftsmanship—skills that are often passed down through generations and take years to master. Graduates from this programme are recognised globally and have gone on to become leading figures in the making and conservation of instruments. The courses have supported the continuation of intangible cultural heritage that is otherwise at risk of being lost.
From a conservation perspective, the closure of these programmes is alarming. The conservation of musical instruments requires an intimate understanding of how instruments are made, including detailed knowledge of materials, tool handling, and construction techniques. Losing a major training ground for such knowledge severely narrows the pipeline for future conservators equipped with these practical skills.
Moreover, this is not only a loss for luthiers or conservators, it affects the wider music and heritage industries. Musical instruments are essential to cultural life, and without skilled makers and restorers, the sustainability of performance practice and the preservation of historic collections is threatened.
The decline in institutional support for heritage crafts is part of a broader pattern, and this case underlines the fragility of specialist education in the UK. These courses serve not just students, but the collective cultural heritage they are trained to uphold.
How You Can Help
A petition has been launched urging Lincoln College to reconsider its decision and to explore ways of making these courses more sustainable rather than ending them entirely. If you believe in the importance of preserving traditional craft, heritage knowledge, and technical education, please consider signing and sharing.
The disappearance of specialist programmes like those at Newark should concern all of us involved in cultural preservation, education, and the arts. Once lost, this kind of institutional knowledge is incredibly difficult to rebuild.
