Martin Swan Violins is the market leader in internet-based sales of fine stringed instruments and bows. We have a wide and diverse international clientele in the UK, the USA, Europe and Asia, ranging from keen amateur traditional players to the concertmasters of prestigious orchestras. You can look at some notable recent sales here.
This website is our shop window. We welcome customers by appointment to our home in Wells, Somerset, UK. We are able to meet clients in London most weeks, and we will travel internationally to meet you where appropriate.
We offer instruments and bows with great playing qualities, focusing on items in excellent condition. These are sold with independent certificates from respected appraisers. We don’t cut corners, and we don’t make exaggerated claims. In our early years we collected customer reviews – and you can still see them although it’s just an archive webpage. These days many of our clients appreciate discretion and we’re happy to have our reputation rest on word of mouth.
Our customers, whether at home or abroad, benefit from a free 14 day trial period. We ship instruments and bows with full insurance – if you buy from us, there’s no charge for this service. Violins and violas are shipped in specialist packaging with the set-up in place.
Buying from us is risk-free. You will have no doubt about the condition or the authenticity of an item you purchase from us, and you will have the time you need to make sure it’s right for you.
Our website is written in English but most content can be translated to several other languages using the icon at the top right of each page. We use neural machine translation for this, and we are currently ‘training’ the system to find appropriate translations for terms used by musicians and luthiers – do let us know if you can help us to improve the translation of particular words or phrases.
We are Martin Swan and Anna Ashmole.
The City of Wells & Avenue House
The City of Wells is the smallest city in England and at its heart is the magnificent cathedral, which is Europe’s first truly Gothic structure. Highlights include a 24-hour astronomical clock, sci-fi ‘scissor arches‘ and some splendid 14th century stained glass. The High Parts Tour allows visitors to visit the hidden roof spaces and galleries of the cathedral. Conveniently nearby, but inexplicably fortified, is the Bishops Palace with its gardens, moat and emblematic swans. Connected to the cathedral by the Chain Gate Bridge is Vicar’s Close, a photogenic medieval street which was built as accommodation for the members of the Vicars Choral when they were thought to be succumbing to worldly temptations whilst lodging among the townsfolk…
The Vicars Choral still sing the daily services in the cathedral, usually accompanied by choristers from the Wells Cathedral Music School. Hidden in the grounds of the music school is a world-class performing arts venue, Cedars Hall, which hosts a busy calendar of classical and traditional music along with talks about the visual arts. This series of art ‘Chats’ are organised by Project Factory which also initiated the installation of Antony Gormley’s provocative work DOUBT on the West Front of the Cathedral.
On Sundays – and at other unexpected times – the bellringing group ‘Wells Bells‘ dominate the airwaves, using either the Cathedral’s 10 bells (the heaviest ring in the world) or the 8 bells in St Cuthberts church.
Wells has provided the backdrop for a number of historical dramas and it famously inspired the village of Sandford in the cult action movie Hot Fuzz – locations here. For one night in November the streets are taken over by a spectacular West Country Guy Fawkes carnival.
There is a busy market in Wells on Wednesdays and Saturdays and there are numerous friendly coffee shops – it’s a great place for a day out.
In 2017 we bought Avenue House, in the centre of Wells, as a home for both ourselves and the business. It’s an impressive Regency town house but has had a chequered history and required substantial renovation. You can follow us on Instagram for photos of the house and garden as they are now: avenue_house_wells.
Company Information
Martin Swan Violins is the trading name of Ashmole & Swan Ltd, registered in Scotland, company No. SC479345. Registered office: 5 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4AN. (This is for government use only, please do not use it for general post).
We are registered for VAT and use the VAT margin schemes for antiques and for artisan products. Any VAT element is included in the sale prices we quote and in most cases the VAT cannot be reclaimed. Our VAT number is GB 119 2104 48.
Professional advice • Transparent pricing • 14 day trial period
