A MYSTERIOUS, musical set of stones has gone on public display in Keighley.

The sonorous stones were first donated to what would later become Cliffe Castle Museum in 1906 by Henry Phillipson.

But the collection of stones, known as a lithophone, has been in Bradford Council storage since the 1950s.

The instrument, similar to a xylophone, has now been dusted off and restored and is on show in the museum's conservatory.

And its 're-emergence' was marked with an event where people could hear the stones in action.

Percussionist Polly McMillan played four new compositions written especially for the instrument by locally-based composers Ben Crick, Ben Gaunt, Flori Maunders and Heider Nasralla.

The origins of the lithophone are unclear, although the instrument is thought to date back to the 19th century when such objects were popular and regularly used in public recitals.

The Cliffe Castle Museum instrument, although incomplete, is amongst just a few remaining examples of its type in the UK.

The musical metamorphics were originally based outside Keighley’s Victoria Hall, before the stones were placed into storage.

The project to restore them was delivered by Quarry Arts, in partnership with Bradford Museums and Galleries.

Funding was provided through Arts Council England project grants – with additional funds from Cliffe Castle Support Group, Kala Sangam, Friends of Bradford Art Galleries & Museums and Ilkley & District Round Table.

Bobbie Millar – from Quarry Arts – believes there were once 49 stones in the Cliffe Castle instrument, although only 22 now remain.

She said some of the stones were "extremely high pitched", whilst others were "more easy on the ear".

Speaking about the latest addition to the museum exhibits, she said: "We do not know who made the stones, but it may be William Till. He also has an instrument in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York."

She hopes that with the Cliffe Castle instrument on public show, the initiative will be an interactive one rather than "an exhibit that gathers dust".

She added: "We want people to try out the stones – we want to engage children a bit more, get them to come to the museum and have a go at playing them."

The wooden frame for the lithophone was created by the Men’s Shed group, which meets in the grounds of the Spring Gardens Lane museum.

For more about the museum, visit bradfordmuseums.org/cliffe-castle.