A wonderfully imposing case

A new booklet entitled 'Resounding Praise' has been released which gives a detailed history of the instrument and organists by Alison Spence.

It contains a great deal of information about church and organ and is available (£5) from the church, the author or the Director of Music

The Current Specification of the Organ

Compass:- Manuals 61 notes

              Pedal 30 notes

Pedal			Swell
Sub Bourdon	32	Digital lowest octave	Open Diapason	8
Open Wood	16		Lieblich Gedact	8
Double Diapason	16	Digital lowest octave	Salicional	8
Bourdon	16		Voix Celeste	8
Echo Bourdon	16	From Choir	Gemshorn	4
Octave Wood	8		Lieblich Flute	4
Bass Flute	8		Flageolet	2
Octave Flute	4		Nineteenth	1⅓
Double Trumpet	16	From Swell	Mixture	III
Ophicleide	16	New bottom octave	Double Trumpet	16
Trumpet	8	From Great	Horn	8
Oboe	4	From Swell	Oboe	8
			Clarion (ext)	4

 

Great			Choir
Double Diapason	16	Digital lowest octave	Echo Bourdon	16
Large Open Diapason	8		Stopped Diapason	8
Small Open Diapason	8		Echo Flute	8
Claribel	8		Dulciana	8
Dulciana	8	From Choir	Viol da Gamba	8
Open Flute	4		Flute	4
Principal	4		Gemshorn	4
Twelfth	2 2/3		Nazard	2 2/3
Fifteenth	2	New to Tenor C	Superoctave	2
Mixture	III	3rd rank added	Seventeenth	1 3/5
Trumpet	8		Clarinet	8
Clarion (ext)	4		Trumpet (GT)	8

All pistons are adjustable. Balanced swell pedal

Full complement of Couplers & Accessories

8 thumb pistons to Great, Swell and Choir (12 levels)

8 Toe pistons to Pedal and Swell

8 Generals to whole organ (256 levels)

Great to pedal combination coupler

Generals on Swell Toe pistons

Tremulant to Swell and Choir

The 1982 Kimber Allen console 

(This replaced a second hand Compton horseshoe style console. The Compton keyboards were retained)

History of the instrument 

On 16th October 1894 the Trustees of St. Mary’s Wesleyan Methodist Church, Truro resolved to accept the recommendation of the Organ Committee and place an order with Brindley & Foster of Sheffield for a new three manual organ. The cost of the instrument was to be £700 plus the old organ.

The old organ had been installed in 1854/5 at a cost of £171 plus £16 8s 5d for carriage from Plymouth, and a further £50 was spent on its enlargement in 1857. In 1868 a sum of £876 5s 0d was spent on ‘the enlargement of the chapel and organ’ and in 1884/5 the local organ builder, Brewer & Co., carried out work for the sum of £95. So far no other details of this organ have been discovered. There is also reference to an organ being installed in 1835 but there is some doubt as to whether this is correct.

The new organ was installed early in 1895 and dedicated on the afternoon of 7th June 1895, Mr. H.T. Lewis the organist giving a recital in the evening. This was followed a week later by a recital given by Dr. E.H. Turpin, one of the leading organists in the country at that time. The organ was deemed to be satisfactory and the Trustees made the final payment and accepted the builders quotation for two visits a year to tune and maintain the organ at a cost of £4 4s 0d per annum! In 1899 it was agreed to spend £10 on a new stop, and in 1909/10 a further £89 was paid to Brindley & Foster probably for inserting some of the ‘prepared for’ stops.

It was often said that Brindley & Foster actions would function quite satisfactorily for about 50 years and then a major rebuild would be necessary. The St. Mary’s organ seems to have confirmed this view. There are no records of payments for any work other than routine tuning and maintenance until 1943 when the organist reported to the Trust that the organ was giving trouble. In 1944 it was proposed that an organ fund should be opened. Apart from some minor work in 1948/9 nothing was done until tenders were sought in February 1954.

Tenders were received from 3 firms and that of the Truro organ builders W. Dickinson & Son of £1,960 was accepted. The pneumatic action was converted to electro-pneumatic and a few changes were made to the tonal scheme. An additional quotation of £150 for a detached stopkey console and £20 for extra pistons was agreed before the rebuild was completed. The opening of the restored church and organ took place on 23rd November 1955.

Unfortunately many of the components used were second-hand (believed to be ex-cinema organs) and their useful life was short. It is not surprising therefore that in October 1964 the organist reported that the organ was very unreliable. This was said to be due to the poor quality of components and to bad maintenance; the Trust therefore agreed to transfer the maintenance to another organ builder. In July 1965 it was reported that there was a strong possibility that the organ would collapse completely. Nothing was done at that time and in 1971 Geo Osmond & Co. reported that a £6,000 re-build had become urgent. At this time the city centre development scheme was being planned and the future of the St. Mary’s building was unknown. The Trust therefore decided to put in hand the replacement of the faulty components so that the instrument would function satisfactorily for a few more years. It was appreciated that this was only a stop gap measure and a full re-build would be required later.

In June 1972 the proposal of M.W. Eglinton of Saltash was accepted. At a cost of £1,460 the action relays and the stopkey units were replaced. As the work progressed, additional work was found to be necessary on some pneumatic motors.

Dickinson’s console had been placed centrally in front of the organ. This position was not very satisfactory as the choir was divided into two sections. In 1975 M.W. Eglinton - then trading as Hele & Co - transferred the console to the present position on the right-hand side of the Church.

The work done by Lance Foy in 1981 transformed the sound of the instrument, making it brighter and more colourful. Both swell and great gained new mixtures and the great an independent 12th. The swell double trumpet makes a telling addition to the full swell and overall ensemble. The direct electric action has proved responsive and reliable and the specification of the instrument is quite complete and now resembles that of the original installation. The provision of a new console (retaining the Compton ivory keys) enables the organist to hear the instrument fully and direct the choir. Since 1987 Lance Foy has been able to do some more work on the organ and  the swell double is now trumpet playable on the pedal organ and additional thumb and toe pistons to the Choir, Great and Swell.

The Church can be rightly proud of such a fine instrument for accompanying hymns and for the performance of Church and organ music.

After 25 years reliable service plans are in hand to overhaul and clean the instrument in the next 4 to 5 years. Recently some of the springs in the pedal chest have broken and temporary repairs have been made with elastic!! We hope the budget will also allow some tonal modifications and improvement with the possible addition of new stops and the provision of an up to date capture system.

Some significant donations have allowed us to make a start on the purchase of a set of Oboe and Clarinet pipes and a new adjustable bench. This bench was given by relatives of a former organist Arthur Coombe.

Please see the new booklet Resounding Praise for a full history of the organ.

 

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