Hi all,  It sounds as if Nigel Perry has indeed a nice find with
his acquisition of the Marshall and Rose Ampico Grand.  According to
the Pierce Piano Atlas, it looks as if his piano were built in 1924.
The serial numbers for 1923 start with 3700 and then start with 24100
in 1925.  In between it looks as if their serial number system changed
a great deal.

The lead dust is not  unusual for elbows on an Ampico, although the
extreme amounts may be due to the use of coal for heating in the
original home?

What is unusual about the piano, from my limited experience under
Ampicos, is the use of black tubing.  Ampico did use black tubing for
supply hose throughout the system, but that doesn't crumble and fall.
The tracker bar and control tubing always seems to be gray here in the
states.  Maybe in the U.K. black tubing was used by player
manufacturers.

Removal of the old cloth may be hastened by moistening the cloth and
then applying a hot iron to help liquefy the original hide glue.

Good luck in your restoration efforts.  I'm certain that the final
results will be worth the extra patience needed.

Best wishes,
Mike Walter