Organ Photographs
On this page, you can see a few photos of our organ.
In early 2017 a large, heavy section of plaster fell from the wall above the organ, denting a large number of pipes, filling the organ chamber with plaster dust, and damaging some of the electrical components making a lot of the instrument unusable. For some time we had been considering a programme of work to replace and update some worn out parts of the organ and rather than see the unexpected damage as a setback, we decided to take it as an opportunity to undertake both repairing the damage and the renovation work at the same time.
The work was undertaken by Nicholson's Organ Builders of Malvern between Oct 2018 and June 2019, and the organ is now fully restored and better than ever! During the rebuild virtually all of the organ was removed and taken back to Nicholson's workshop. The soundboards were overhauled, and most of the "winding" was replaced, including installing a new blower indoors rather than it being in a little shed behind the church! We do not now, in midwinter, blow freezing cold damp air through a warm organ, which wasn't doing the organ, or the church heating bills, any good at all.
Most of the pipework was cleaned and voiced, and some small but important tonal changes were made. The great mixture was re-composed; a Tierce was added to the Great and the Swell Tierce was replaced; the Great Dulciana was replaced with a new Small Open Diapason; and the swell oboe was made playable from the Choir organ.
All of the electronics in the console were replaced, and new playing aids such as a stepper were added. And finally, the console was placed on a moveable platform to facilitate use in recitals and concerts.
We are delighted by the results of Nicholson's work and look forward to now being able to use the instrument in concerts and recitals as well as in its weekly liturgical duties.
On this page, you can see a few photos of our organ.