Organ matters - Organs matter!

Quote from: flared_ophicleide on July 26, 2014, 03:46:10 AMThis forum seems to most nearly be appropriate for the following:

Nathaniel J. Holmes, of Primrose Hill, London, had the Brycesons build a 4-manual, 65-stop for his home in the 1870s.  Enlarged in 1936, it was re-located to St. Peter's RC, Buckie, Scotland.
NPOR says that St. Peter's shut and was converted into flats, but says nothing about the organ.

Does anybody have any idea what happened to it?

St Peter's Church is still open and the organ is still there but no longer used, as they have purchased a small electronic instead

Whenever a church is made redundant, I am uneasy. Whenever one hears about a CHURCH PLANT, one becomes anxious.

St Peters York Place Brighton East Sussex is one such church plant.

Charismatic evangelicals have little to no use of pipe organs, even when their church organ is a fine four-manual Henry Willis instrument, at St Peters York Place Brighton.

My fears that the Church Plant would neglect the instrument at York Place proved correct. The Willis is no more. It has been broken up.

The interior of this beautiful Regency-era neo-perpendicular gothic building has been transformed into a boutique pop music gig stage, where happy clappers meet to do their thing.

R.I.P 1889 WILLIS

UPDATE to this post:

Contrary to my post above, it appears that Harrison Organs of Durham, have rescued this 1889 Willis instrument in its entirety, and is to be incorporated into a new 67-stop instrument Harrisons are building for the chapel of St John's College Cambridge University. The new organ is to replace the current Mander organ.

This is a happy outcome for a lovely Willis instrument that I loved to play each week in the 1960s.

Further information may be seen at Harrison's here:

https://www.harrisonorgans.com/gallery/cambridge-st-johns-college/

Hi,

I have just received a notification from a non forum source, who is interested in acquiring this organ.
Please note that any "Organ Matters" subscribers,  who from now on should show interest in this organ, will be required to wait until the party either firms up their requirements to purchase, or declines the offer.
Please contact me if any one is still interested and is in a position to wait awhile.

Thank for your understanding.   Ron.

Hi

My name is Ron fae Baddyfash.

If you are still interested in obtaining a Compton Organ, please see my post in"Organs in danger=> Organs on eBay or for urgent sale.....  "You can have a Working Compton for free, if you provide the transport)
Yes it is working.

Please contact me. Regards Ron

Hi,
My user name is Ron fae Baddyfash, as you can probably guess I'm from Scotland but born in England.

Our church in Inverurie near Aberdeen is looking for a good home for our Compton Sonatina  type CH2 Electrone  Organ. On the Sonatina, the base notes, normally speaking from a pedalboard, automatically sound as the manual keys are depressed. It is therefore the ideal model for a player transitioning from a piano, or as a self contained practice organ for home use.  Inside the organ there is a hand written number in blue felt tip pen "M 6408" which is possibly the serial number.  I could not find an official serial number plate inside  the organ.  The Sonatina was Comptom's smallest Electrone organ, It consists of a single manual split in to 2 sections to give the effect of a 2 manual and pedal instrument. It's fully working with every key and stop functioning however there is some noise from the belt drive motor bearings, requiring oiling. The belt is in excellent condition. There may be some mains hum from the aged electrostatic smoothing capacitors in the PSU. These as in all electronic equipment of this era, should be changed out using  modern equivalents as a matter of course. I did think initially that this organ had the rotating speaker array called a "Rotofon" but having examining it further, I discovered this not to be the case. However, there are 3 vibrato stops available which provide a similar effect.
A good clean and some general maintenance may be required. To my personal knowledge, it has not been played for the last 30 years  I believe it was installed from new in the late 60s.  It's obviously in good condition and definitely original but has not been played for a very long time, As long as I can remember, It has been at the rear of the church assuming the role of a table.  Luckily,  it's never been messed about with. I don't know much musically about the organ, me being an retired electrical engineer rather than an organist, other than it has a transistor amplifier rather than the more usual valve version, which may prove to be easier to maintain. I'll take a few photos If I can find out how to add these to this post.
I'll send them in a private e-Mail. to anyone who is interested in giving a new home to to this historic organ, please let me know.

COMPTON'S SPECIFICATON FOR THE SONATINA (information taken from Compton's published literature found online)
2 in 1 Manual CC-C (61 notes) Automatic Base                       

ACCOMPANIMENT (GREAT)
Tromba        8                 Principal           4
Mixture        111 rks.      Dulciana           8
Fifteenth      2                Gedeckt            8
Twelfth        2. 3/4          Diapason          8
Dulcat          4                Geigen             16
Flute            4                Mute

SOLO
Celseta      4                 Clarinet              8
Flute          4                Concert Flute    8
Horn          8                Flute                16
Oboe         8

GENERAL
Reverberation                  Bass P
Heavy Vibrato                  Bass MF
Light Vibrato
One balanced expression pedal operating on all stops.       

Timescales are now critical, please respond as soon as possible as the organ is scheduled to be broken up for scrap within the next week or so.
 If there are any interested parties who would be interested in saving this historic organ, please contact me APAP.
You can have it for free (subject to a suitable donation to the church we are a charity after all).
You will be required to provide all transport as well as suitable labour to remove it from the church and load it in to your van.

If you would like to inspect and play the organ prior to shipment or include this visit as part of a holiday to Scotland, we would love to see you. We do live in a little known but very spectacular part of the UK with very many scenic and historical places to visit, with very little traffic as compared to England.
If you are interested in motoring, you may be interested in completing the "NC 500" an exhilarating drive around the rugged North Coast  of Scotland. or you may prefer a more leisurely tourist drive around the scenic coastal roads of Aberdeenshire and Moray, then heading south over the Grampian mountains down to Royal Deeside. The route is completed by a visit to Braemar then the scenic drive returning to  Aberdeen.
Please Google both "NC 500" and "North Coast 250"and make your choice, you will not be disappointed, but please pick up the organ on your return!


regards Ron.

Hi,
My user name is Ron fae Baddyfash, as you can probably guess I'm from Scotland but born in England.
Our church in Inverurie near Aberdeen is looking for a good home for our Compton Electrone Organ. I believe it was installed from new in the early 60s ( I was not there then). It's obvious very original but has not been played for a very long time (also it's not been messed about with) so there may be some serious maintenance required. I don't know how long ago you posted your request online or if you have found one already but this one is available to take away if you can arrange the transport in exchange for a small donation. I don't know much about it other than it has a transistor Amplifier rather than the more usual valve version which may prove to be easier to maintain. I'll take a few photos of it and email these to you. You can always come up and see us and examine the organ in person. we love having guests up here and it's a great place for a holiday.

PS If you are interested in motoring, google "NC 500"


regards Ron.

Hi - I'm in Newark-on-Trent and am new to the group. I've just acquired a working Cantor Organ (2 Man). I haven't been able to determine the model number but the "processor" board has a PROM labelled Spec-1.557 30-05-91 Cant85E. I'm looking for schematics but any assistance would be appreciated.
Chris

Thanks so much for drawing these to attention! What a programme!

Best wishes

David P

Malcolm Pentelow is giving a recital on Sunday 25th June 2023 at 7.30pm.

The programme has Norwegian and Bells threads with works by Hovland, Buxtehude, Bach, Brautigam, Eftestol, Delius and Murill.

Holy Cross, Daventry has a fine Henry Willis organ built in 1860 and restored to original condition in 1988 by Kenneth Tickell and Company. The organ is now in the care of Henry Willis & Sons.

Please come to hear and appreciate this wonderful instrument.

David Muggleton. (Organist, Holy Cross, Daventry.)