Advertising from the late 19C.
According to The Piano, An Encyclopedia, Charles H. Challen built his first piano however the business did not become an entity until the 1830s. And the Piano Atlas states that the company was established in 1804 by Thomas Butcher and that William Challen entered the firm in 1816 and took over the company in the 1830s. During the period 1875 – 1925 the Challen company occupied a secure place in the second tier of English builders with an annual output of 500 instruments.
Advertising from the early part of the 20C.
From personal ephemera collection.
The Challen Piano Company was best known for its small grands however it did produce a range of pianos.
The fortunes of the Challen Piano Company changed dramatically with the arrival of William Evans who joined the company in 1926 and becoming the Managing Director in the 1930s. Evans designed a four-foot grand which nearly displaced the upright as the compact home instrument of choice in England. Evans introduced modern mass production techniques to what had been a traditional family concern and the resultant economies enabled him to reduce prices dramatically. In the decade 1925 – 35, Challen’s annual output rose to 2500 instruments even as many other English piano makers were experiencing financial difficultly or were going out of business. In 1932 Challen completed an agreement to take over all manufacturing for Broadwood, which was forced to restructure solely as a retail concern.
Advertising from the 1930s.
Challen built what is considered to have been the world’s longest piano for the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935. It weighed on ton and measured 11 feet 8 inches. There is a video of Billy Mayerl playing on it on youtube. www.britishpathe.com/video/billy-mayerl This may not be true however there are some reports that this piano was acquired by a couple in Manchester, and it was used at a garden party for the Royal family in 1936. However, because of its weight it sank into boggy ground and was later used as a garden. Another website stated that the piano was bought by someone in France. Whatever is the story there is no information available as to what happened to this piano.
The BBC used Challen pianos in their studios and the other pianos that were used were Steinway and Bosendorfer. The Beatles played on a Challen upright at the Abbey Road studios. This piano was used on the tracks for Yesterday, Paperback Writer, Tomorrow Never Knows, Old Brown Shoe and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.
Challen and Son ceased its existence individually upon the retirement of William Evans in 1959. The company was first sold to Brasted Brothers and upon their demise in 1970 the company was sold to Barratt and Robinson. The brand names Barratt and Robinson and Challen were licensed to a firm in Malaysia. (I am not sure if Barratt and Robinson were subsequently taken over by Broadwood in 1984).
The RMS Caronia, a passenger ship of the Curnard Line was launched on the 30th October 1947 and it served until 1967. It was launched from John Brown’s shipyard on Clydebank, Glasgow by the then Princess Elizabeth three weeks before her marriage. Her maiden voyage, from Southampton to New York was on the 4th January 1949. It was one of the first ‘dual-purpose’ ships, it was built for second-class transatlantic crossings and all first-class cruising. The ship had art-deco interiors, according to some at the time was the most luxurious liner of its time.
Challen grand piano onboard the RMS Caronia, from Alamy.com
Otago Daily Times 23rd September 1947
The Challen Piano Company was owned by subsequent generations of the Challen family. The first Challen family member to own the company was William Challen, who was born in 1793. He is found in the 1851 Census, aged 58 years and his occupation is listed as Pianoforte maker. One of his daughters, Elizabeth Jane, aged 28 years is a Teacher of Pianoforte. In the same census, his son Charles Challen, aged 28 years (was he Elizabeth Jane’s twin?) is living in Bristol was his wife Sarah. He had married Sarah Hollis on the 4th August 1847 according to one record. Charles Challen, born 1823 can be traced in the subsequent censuses, living in Marylebone and then St Pancras working as a Pianoforte maker. He died on the 19th June 1906. His son, Charles Hollis Challen, born 1854, can be found in the 1911 Census, working on his own account as a Pianoforte Manufacturer. John Duncan Challen (he later changed his name to Duff-Challen), born 1888 is shown in the 1939 Register as working as a Pianoforte Manufacturer. John Duff-Challen died in 1947. I am not sure if any other Challen family members worked for the company after John Duff-Challen’s death in 1947.
All of the advertising material is taken from the PapersPast website.
References
www.ancestry.com
www.sheargoldmusic.co.uk>chalen-pianos
www.challen-pianos.co.uk
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMSCaronia_(1947)
www.theguardian.com/uk
www.harringay.com/group/historyofharringay/forum/topics/world-s-largest-piano-built-in-harringay
www.pianostreet.com/smf/index/php?topic=21034.0