death_date instruments background birth_date article_title name occupation
1895 string instruments non_performing_personnel 1817 william ebsworth hill
 william ebsworth hill luthier , businessman
william ebsworth hill

william ebsworth hill -lrb- 1817 -- 1895 -rrb- was a noted london violin maker and founder of the firm w. e. hill & sons .
son of the violin maker henry lockey hill , he came from a long tradition of violin makers , going back to his great grandfather joseph hill .
he started making at the age of 14 in the workshop of his father , alongside his brother joseph hill ii , and was soon entrusted the important job of cutting bridges and setting up instruments for the family workshop .
after the deaths of his father and brother , he worked briefly for the violin maker charles harris , at oxford , before returning to london to work under his own name , eventually becoming internationally recognized as w. e. hill & sons .
he did not individually produce many instruments but gained a reputation for excellence in restoration of important instruments as well as their authentication .
