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Gotham St Lawrence

Organ

At the death of Earl Howe, the principal land owner with a large estate in the village that contributed to the welfare of the village, a fund was raised in his memory to provide an organ for the church. The cost was £164 10s. of which £150 19s was raised by voluntary contributions. The sum comprised all the contributions of one pound, or over and the details are to be found at the end of the burial register, after the deaths recorded for 1812. The largest contribution of £50 was given by the rector at that time, the Rev John James Vaughan.

The organ was installed by a Mr Haddich of London and was brought into use on 1 November 1870. It required air to be pumped through the pipes when played, usually the job of a choir boy, who was soon reminded if there was insufficient air, by a sharp tap on the back of the organ case. Godfrey notes that there was a brass plate fixed on the case of the organ installed in the easternmost section of the north aisle. The inscription read, Dedicated by the Rector and Parishioners to the memory of the Rt Hon R W P 1st Earl Howe, 1870. There is a photograph of Alice, the wife of the rector, Frederick Armine Wodehouse seated at this organ.

The organ was replaced in 1953 by Messrs E Wragg of Nottingham, a firm that no longer exists. It has been described as a ‘modern two manual with an electric blower.’ It was renovated in 1973 as mentioned on the small brass plate fixed to the right of the organ on the abutment to the archway separating the nave from the chancel.