Piano tuner Charles Seaton was also a composer in south London but his music is hard to find. ALISON COULDRIDGE finds out more about his work from his great-grandson.

In the Victorian era, the piano-tuning profession was a popular one as pianos provided one of the main forms of entertainment.

One of the many tuners in south-east London was a man called Charles Seaton, who lived in the Peckham Rye and East Dulwich areas.

Living from 1838 to 1902, Seaton was very much a Victorian (he worked in a top hat and tail) but he did not just tune the pianos he was an accomplished piano player and composer as well.

He ran a music stall at The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in the late 1800s where he sold his own compositions.

The stall bore the name C Seaton and carried the caption played at the palace with the greatest success'.

Compositions by Seaton in existence include Danse Champetre, Home Greeting, the Hanlon Volta Waltzes and Cordelia Waltz.

Hugh Bailey, the great-grandson of Mr Seaton, is trying to find out more about Seaton's compositions.

He said: "A collection of his music was resurrected following the death of my mother last year and the subsequent clearance of her house.

"Everything we found is very uplifting. It was a voice from the past and a delight to hear.

"What I would love to know is whether Charles Seaton wrote anything else. Some of his music could be in the corner of an attic in Peckham, Sydenham, Dulwich or even in Crystal Palace."

Seaton's stall also sold music by composers such as Mendelssohn, Edwin A Stunt and Atonse Rechals, the latter of which is an anagram of Charles Seaton.

He used this name when business was slow, as a new composer would attract renewed interest.

His daughter Ada continued to run the music stall after his death up until the First World War.

Seaton had three children Ada, Emmie and Sidney George.

The family lived in Handel House, 76 Peckham Rye and moved to Tower House, Ethero Street, Barry Row, East Dulwich, in the 1880s.

l Do you have any information on Charles Seaton, his relatives or any of his music? Write to Alison Couldridge, News Shopper, Mega House, Crest View Drive, Petts Wood, Kent, BR5 1BT.

In April ...

April 3, 1721: Robert Walpole became the first prime minister of Britain.

April 1, 1742: The ruins of Pompeii were unearthed.

April 16, 1900: The world's first book of stamps went on sale.

April 11, 1930: The Daily Express became the first newspaper to publish television listings.

April 22, 1947: A photo-finish camera was used for the first time at Epsom.

April 9, 1955: The McDonald's hamburger chain was founded in Chicago.

April 19, 1958: Bobby Charlton played his first international match for England.

April 4, 1964: The Beatles made music history by holding the top five places in the Top 40 with Can't Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand and Please Please Me.

April 27, 1984: A Philidelphia radio station broadcast a No Michael Jackson Weekend, in protest at his airwave saturation.

April 24, 1989: The governor of Massachusetts declared New Kids on the Block Day.

April 13, 2000: It emerged desperate zoologists in China were considering using Viagra to persuade pandas to mate and boost the flagging population.

April 30, 2001: Nelson Mandela was given the Freedom of Leeds but mistakenly thanked Liverpool.