This project involved an examination of the relative popularity of various harpsichords and related keyboard instruments in England from 1150 to 1820, with particular attention to the virginal period, 1500 to 1680. Considerable research was involved in selecting an appropriate instrument to replicate and the methodology of its builder. Attention was given to the appropriateness of certain bodies of literature to particular instrument types, with special attention to English virginal literature. In order to understand fully the relationship between an instrument type and its literature, it was further necessary to draw comparisons between the physical and musical features of the various harpsichord types which might influence the suitability of the instrument to the literature.The culmination of the project was the building of a virginal based upon the findings of the research. The instrument chosen for replication was the 1668 Stephen Keene virginal built in London.