Edinburgh author honoured from tree to tunes

A VIOLIN made out of a tree from the childhood home of Scots author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was presented to a university yesterday.

Edinburgh-based luthier Steve Burnett carved the instrument from a sycamore tree at Conan Doyle's home in the outskirts of Edinburgh. He lived in Liberton Bank House during his school years in the 1860s.

The violin was presented to Edinburgh University in a ceremony yesterday morning. It will be added to the institution's extensive collection of historical instruments.

The instrument has been named Sherlock after the author's most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes. In the novels, the detective was an accomplished violinist.

It is inscribed with the words: "Sherlock, 150th anniversary, birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, wood from sycamore at Dunedin School, former childhood home, Edinburgh, 22/05/2009."