The young one

The baby of the pack, but also a new jewel in the crown (I can never resist a mixed metaphor), is Finchcocks, a country house in Kent which began offering residential weekend and summer courses in 2018. For fans of early 18th-century architecture, it would surely be tempting enough simply to go and spend time in the dreamy and beautifully proportioned manor, built in 1725. That the owners run piano courses too seems almost too wonderful to be true.

For many years, Finchcocks was home to a remarkable ‘living’ collection of pianos and keyboards (upon which the public were encouraged to play) collected by Richard Burnett. In 2015 he decided to sell up, but wished some form of musical life to continue in the venue. This is when Neil and Harriet Nichols stepped forward. Neil, a businessman working in accountancy, legal advice and property, and Harriet, a vet, were looking to find a new home outside of London. Both were keen pianists, as were all four of their children. Neil had been looking for some time to find a type of residential piano course for himself which would be of the right scale, and level of luxury – but not finding quite what he was after from the existing courses, decided to set up his own, in his new home. In 2018, after some major renovation work, the next lease of life at Finchcocks began. One of the former pianos – a 19th-century Broadwood – has been retained to form a link with the past.

The venue accommodates eight participants. There are regular weekend courses all year round for all levels of ability, and many week-long courses too: usually people attend one of the former before going on to the latter, but this is not exclusively the case. With an in-house chef who trained at the Ivy and worked at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons under Raymond Blanc, I don’t think it could be considered too much of a hardship to return.