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Winthorpe All Saints

Organ

Little is known about the first organ which was installed in the present church in 1888. The consecration booklet 1888 states that 'the organ is from Messrs. Fincham’s works, Liston Road, London'. During the Consecration service the following mentions of the organ are made: 'While the congregation were waiting, the organist (Mr. H. J. Davis, of Christ Church, Bath) extemporised some pleasing music on the organ' and 'as the congregation left the church, the organist played 'The Hallelujah Chorus''. According to the plan of the church drawn by the architect, Sidney Gambier-Parry, this organ would have measured approximately 10 feet wide by 7 feet 6 inches deep. It is reasonable to assume that it may not have had much height, as many memorial plaques from the previous church are hung on the walls of the organ chamber, and would not have been visible if the organ had been more than about 6 feet tall. It was eventually sold to Mr. Harston, organ builder of Newark, for £20, to help raise the sum required to pay for the next organ.

In 1899 a new organ was installed at a cost of £340. The sum was raised by subscriptions and collections at the opening. The instrument was used for the first time at the Harvest Festival on 5 October, when a recital was given by the organist of Southwell Cathedral.

Specification

The following is a transcription of the specification supplied by the organ builders, Gray & Davison of London, dated 22 March 1899:

'The instrument to consist of two manuals CC to G 56 notes & an independent Pedal Organ of 30 notes CCC to F. The Pedal Organ is on the tubular pneumatic principle.

Great Organ:

Swell Organ:

Pedal Organ:

Couplers:

Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal right (also by T Pedal)
Great to Pedal left (also by T Pedal)

Composition Pedals:

Two to the Great Organ & Two to the Swell Organ, for changing the stops in their best combinations; to be of wrought iron.

Soundboards – to be large, giving ample speaking room for the pipes; the tables & upperboards to be of thoroughly seasoned fine grained mahogany highly finished & fitted with valves, well bedded & bushed, to be varnished or painted; the pedal Soundboards to be of well selected & seasoned timber & of the finest construction & to be painted.

The Keyboards – The manual keys to be made of fine grained ivory & ebony the swell to overhang the Great, upon solid oak frames, the touch to be free with perfect repetition; the jambs, book desk & key fittings to be of oak polished & the whole handsomely fitted up; the stop knobs to have solid ivory head & ebony stems with the names engraved on the ivory heads; the pedal keys to be of thoroughly seasoned birch & to be made to the scale & dimensions of the Royal College of Organists & to work quietly & easily.

The Bellows to be large & strongly made, with double acting feeders all working parts to be double leathered & fitted with inverted ribs for even pressure, iron regulators & silent valves, the blowing action to be easy & quiet in working, & made of iron & hard wood.

The Main Frame to be of stout & well seasoned timber, very strong & all firmly bolted together & to be painted.

Swell Box to be of substantial thickness, lined inside & painted outside, the shutters to be on the venetian principle, working upon tempered pins & sockets with ease & quietness, the crescendo & diminuendo to be gradual & effective.

Pipes those of metal to four feet, to be of tin & lead, beyond of best stout zinc & metal, front pipes & reeds of the best spotted metal.

Tone to be full & round, rich & mellow & without harshness of any kind, the stops to blend with each other in a smooth & perfect manner, the solo stops to be pure & telling & the lighter stops to be delicately voiced; the scales of the stops to be chosen as most suited to the position.

A substantial Organ stool of Pine included.'

Six years after the organ was installed, on 19 October 1905, the 'Inscription Brass Plate' (costing £3) was received from Singer & Sons of Frome and affixed to the front of the organ, above the right hand set of stops. It reads:

1897 The Diamond Jubilee of the reign of Victoria R.I. In Commemoration this organ was built by subscription and dedicated to the Glory of God October 5th 1899. C.W.H. Griffith, M.A. Rector H. Ringrose } Church J. Batty } wardens.

The organ has not been materially re-built since its installation although it has been routinely maintained and tuned. An electric blower was installed by Cousans (Lincoln) Ltd. in 1949, and in the 1960s the 8ft oboe stop was opened out so that it could double as a small trumpet when combined with an 8ft flute. In the early 1970s a concave pedal-board from a reclaimed organ was fitted in place of the flat original. At the same time the exhaust-pneumatic pedal action was electrified. The original lever swell pedal is still in use.