IT may not be a Stradivarius but this striking violin is still hard to match.

The instrument was once played by writer Laurie Lee, and astonishingly, it is made from matchsticks – 17,000 of them.

Laurie, who was known for his love of music and was a talented fiddle player, played it at the Festival of Britain in 1951.

Now, visitors have the chance to see the instrument at the Museum in the Park.

It was painstakingly constructed in 1936 onboard a ship by a hard-working sailor called Jack Hall, who enjoyed making matchstick models in his spare time.

His son Tony has kindly lent the museum his father’s collection including the violin.

“In 2006 I made an astonishing discovery,” explained Tony.

“Laurie Lee performed with the matchstick violin at the 1951 Festival of Britain.

“My dad was never aware of this, in fact he didn’t know if it could actually be played until he heard it for the first and only time on BBC television in 1991.

“It’s quite incredible to think Laurie Lee knew, 55 years before Jack did, that his matchstick violin was actually playable.”

Also on display are a matchstick mandolin, which was also displayed by Laurie at the Festival of Britain, a guitar, castanets, a mini lighthouse and a recorder plus the tools Jack used to constructed the models.

The display can be seen in the Collectors Room until October 5.

A real violin owned by Laurie can be seen at the museum in the recreated kitchen corner of his childhood home.

As part of the celebrations to mark the centenary of Laurie’s birth, an exhibition called Laurie Lee: Poetry, Art and Landscape runs at the museum until Sunday, October 5.

It includes a collection of previously unseen drawings and paintings by Laurie plus new work by artists inspired by a series of walks through around Slad, the Stroud Valleys and beyond called The Art of Walking. For more see mu seuminthepark.org.uk.