Paxman Musical Instruments

Paxman Musical Instruments Ltd is a British manufacturer of horns. Paxman is the instrument of choice of a number of leading British players, including Michael Thompson. Paxman was established at the turn of the twentieth century by Harry Paxman, but did not start production of horns until 1945, when no more than twelve instruments a year were made.

Robert Paxman was honoured with an Order of the British Empire for his services to music. 1950 saw the arrival in England of Richard Merewether, a professional horn player whose career had started with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As his career in this country progressed, he found himself specialising more and more in the high register of the instrument. He had been working on ideas of horn design for a number of years and had researched areas of physics which he thought to be fundamental to the successful design and manufacture of such instruments. He approached Robert Paxman with these ideas, and persuaded him to build horns in f-alto and F/f-alto.

These instruments were so successful that Merewether and Paxman continued their association and went on to develop a range of over 50 models.

Paxman are also notable for having repaired Dennis Brain's Alexander horn, damaged in his fatal car crash.