William (I) Forster

The family of the William Forster, Forsters have played Violin Maker, no unimportant part in in Brampton. the history of Violins. The attention they commanded as makers, both, from artists and amateurs, has probably never been equalled in England. Their instruments claimed attention from the moment they left the makers' hands, their construction being excellent in every way. William Forster was a native of Brampton, in Cumberland, where he followed the trade of a spinning-wheel maker, occupying his spare time in the making and repairing of Violins and musical instruments generally. His labours, as far as they relate to Violinmaking, appear to have been of a very unpretending nature, but they served to impart a taste for the art to his son William, who was the best maker of the family.