R & D Extension organ - Bridgwater College (Somerset)

[diapason]

I've just had this email forwarded to me and am copying it in full.

N

From: john bodiley [mailto:jbodiley@hotmail.co.uk]
Sent: 29 January 2013 18:32
To: Julia Steward; Stephen Bell; Andrew Carter; chppr@clik.ac; rjwillis48@gmail.com; music@grahamwillson.org; landjlockwood@tiscali.co.uk; Derek Dorey; ontherightnote@talktalk.net; lucilla.watson@btinternet.com; John Young; simon forrester; Miles Quick; Steven Martin
Subject: pipe organ for sale

Colleagues:

Bridgwater College has a pipe organ for sale. It is a Rushworth & Dreaper extension instrument with 2 manuals and 30 note pedal-board. There are 5/6 stops on each manual, derived from 2 ranks of good quality spotted metal pipework, apart from the largest basses, which are stopped zinc. The "case" is two opposing large triangles of pipework. The largest pedal pipes are in a separate, taller case at the back. The pipes are behind plexiglass swell shutters which currently do not function!
The organ has been assessed by Andrew Fearn, of T.W. Fearn, as broadly very effective. That said, it needs a complete overhaul, and were it to be purchased and moved, the opportunity should be taken to rebuild it and to renew action mechanism where necessary. The cost of this work he estimates as £5,000 - £7,000. As for the price of the organ, the college has been advised that it will not fetch more than a few hundred. For under £8,000, therefore, a two-manual and pedal pipe organ could be available. The large pedal pipes in their separate box could be detached and placed away from the rest of the instrument, since they currently make it taller than it need be. It would then, I think, fit under a ceiling height of about 10 feet.

I am circulating you all, since it is possible, in your peregrinations among local churches, that you may hear of a church looking to replace a decrepit pipe organ, or even looking to replace a digital instrument. A bequest may have been left by a local worthy towards music in the parish. Alternatively, you may know of an individual living in a palatial home, which could accommodate such an organ. You may even be such a person yourself! If you have any thoughts about this, or would like to try it yourself, get in touch, and I'll try to arrange a visit.

Best wishes,

John