ABSTRACT
The manuscript partbooks and organ book associated with the chapel of Chirk castle comprise the only known source of polyphonic music from an institution in Wales during the post-Reformation period; indeed, this is an outstanding example of a musical source shaped by the tastes of a landed Anglo-Welsh family. The manuscripts contain a significant repertory of anthems and services that could have graced any moderately endowed choral foundation in England, and imply the presence of both an organ and a competent choir capable of singing in up to six parts. The Chirk manuscripts were copied at the instruction of the younger Sir Thomas Myddleton, probably to complement his overall refurbishment of the castle chapel in the 1630s. The contract for the Chirk organ, a rare and very valuable survival, was drawn up between the builder John Burward and Sir Thomas Myddleton the younger on 28 February 1632.
