September 2009 Update

 

Monday 7th September saw another milestone passed in the Organ Restoration Project at St Mary’s Church.

 

The steel work for the Gallery upon which the restored Organ will sit was delivered to the Church, and manoeuvred into position for lifting. There is restricted clearance in the Church, caused by the narrow main aisle and the un-movable pews, and it was a very skilled team led by Houseman and Falshaw that negotiated all the hazards until everything was where it needed to be.

 

Later in the week the task of raising the steel to form the base of the gallery begins. This will be some 3 metres above the floor of the South Transept, and the weight of the steel girders makes this a very complex task. St Mary’s may have to be locked for short spells whilst the lifting work is being done for health and safety reasons.

 

Having been dismantled at the end of August, all the workings of the Organ are now at the factory of Principal Pipe Organs in York where the intricate work of restoring the hundreds of pipes and complex moving parts has begun. It is hoped that the gallery will be complete well before Christmas, but the Organ itself is not scheduled to return until the New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, the loan Organ continues to serve us very well: for any who are interested the Specification is:

 

One Manual, Tracker Action

Stopped Diapason 8

Principal 4

Flute 4

Fifteenth 2

There are 232 pipes, from various sources, including some by Forster and Andrews.

 

If you would like further information on any aspect, please contact John Townend, organist at St. Mary’s.