A History of St. Mary's Pipe Organ from 1877 to 2010
In 1877 Robert Postill of York, who died in 1882, built St. Mary’s an organ with two manuals and a pedal section and, it is believed, incorporated some of the 1813 pipework of an earlier organ. The organ was paid for by subscription according to the list below. William Denman, a former employee of Robert Postill, added a third manual and the choir organ in 1884. N.P.Mander of London carried out major work in 1964. He restored the sound boards, cleaned the pipework, renewed and moved out the console from the case, revised the actions, made tonal changes and installed an unusual tracker system. Geoffrey Coffin of Principal Pipe Organs of York, who tuned and maintained the organ from 1986, cleaned the unenclosed choir pipework in 1988 and later carried out repairs to the console and pedal coupler actions. He supplied an estimate for major work in June 1994 but the Chancel roof, also found to be in urgent need of repair, had to take priority so work on the organ was put on hold. The 2004 inspection report revealed extensive deterioration. Perished sheepskin coverings had caused failures in various offnote and drawstop actions. Friction in the various pivot joints had increased to such an extent that it was almost impossible for any organist to play for long periods. Cotton covered wiring was actually a fire hazard and the original 1877 bellows leather strapping and gusset coverings had rotted. In truth there was a serious risk of the organ going up in smoke or silence of the bellows! To replace the organ with one of equal size and value was estimated at £400,000 net of VAT! Therefore repair, restoration and improvement of the organ became a priority. Estimates for the work were about £94,000 - net of VAT which was payable then. This was - and is - a daunting sum to raise so the work was divided into three stages with the first stage estimated at £42,000 net of VAT. Unfortunately the changes carried out on the organ in previous years meant it failed to meet the criteria for most grant giving bodies including the Council for the Care of Churches and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Despite our best fund-raising efforts over the next two years and securing grants of £5,000 from Thirsk Infants School Trust and £5,000 from The Foundation for Sport and the Arts it became clear that the sum required for the second and third stages was beyond us so in December 2006 it was decided to use the £42,000 or so which we had raised to pay for as much priority work as this sum would cover. Geoffrey Coffin began on site in August 2007 and completed essential repairs and refurbishment by 26th November at a cost of around £45,000. Cotton covered wires were replaced by new cables thus removing the fire hazard. Three new rows of manual keys were installed and an electro pneumatic system which has dramatically reduced the effort of playing the formerly very ‘heavy’ keys. The main bellows was converted to a continental style so there is no fear of the organ going silent! The State of the Organ in 2010The console is now in a good state and should be playable for many years but the 2091 organ pipes, some of which may date back to 1813, have not been dealt with as there was insufficient money. Unenclosed choir organ pipework was cleaned in 1988 but the rest hasn’t been cleaned since 1964 and is exceedingly dirty. Accumulated dust and grit is choking the pipe mouths and this affects the tone and tuning stability. Metal tuning slides have rusted and must be replaced and the wooden pipework needs the stoppers releathering. So although the organ pipes are believed to be less of a priority they will have to be cleaned and repaired eventually and there is no knowing how long this may be delayed . Cleaning and Restoration of the Organ PipesCleaning and restoration of the pipes is currently estimated to cost about £16,000. Considering the age of the pipes it may be possible to secure repair and restoration grants. However, grants are linked to the amount of money raised by St. Mary’s so we shall have to keep on fund-raising albeit at a slower pace. The dedicated Organ Restoration Fund now stands at £4,835 and we hope to add to this sum during the summer season of ' First Monday in the Month Lunchtime Organ Recitals' - lunch time being 12.15pm-12.45pm. Alan Morton., St. Mary's church organist, opens the season on Easter Monday and has persuaded guests organists to give recitals. This season's guest organists are Philip Sanguine, Nigel Gaze, David Jackson, James Roriston, John Longstaff and Robert Firth. It is hoped that the Venerable Paul Ferguson, Archdeacon of Cleveland, will once again perform the special Christmas exhibition recital. Recital Dates and Recitalists6th September Organist: John Longstaff4th October Organist: Robert Firth Organ Pipe SponsorshipOrgan pipe sponsorship helped us to raise £5,415 of the initial funding for the work on the organ. There are still 1,730 organ pipes to be sponsored. PLEASE CLICK HERE for a sponsorship form if you would like to sponsor an organ pipe - or several – at £15 per pipe. Stop ListFollowing the repair and restoration by Geoffrey Coffin of ‘Principal Pipe Organs’ The revised stop list is as follows: --
Couplers Great and Pedal Combinations Coupled Compass of manuals CC-G (56 notes)
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