I read in an edition of "Weekly News" the following article ;
A church is fighting to save one of the country's oldest Victorian organs.
Bank Street Chapel in Bolton, Lancs, needs £10,000 to complete a major overhaul of the 130 year old instrument's worn out parts.
So far, half has been raised for the organ, which was bought by the Church for £140 in 1877, but it's future will only be secured when fund raising is complete.
It's an impressive organ and wil sound great when fully restored said Minister Stephen Lingwood.
Does anyone know about this, and who the organ builder was,and whether it really is one of the oldest organs in the country?
Colin Richell.

This one?

http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N02288

£10,000 for a major overhaul? Isn't that a bit... how shall we say?... of a bargain? I wonder if an extra nought hasn't been missed out.

I agree, although the article did say the church needs the money to COMPLETE the overhaul, and that half the money has already been raised, but still that only amounts to £20,000 so perhaps the word MAJOR was incorrect !
Colin Richell.

Thanks Handsoff.
I note that the Gray and Davison was a 1877 organ but that one was installed previous to that which is undated. so which organ are we talking about because many organs were manufactured well before 1877 so what makes the Church think that their organ is one of the oldest Victorian instruments ?
Help !
Colin Richell

Ah yes, of course. Clearly I failed to read the report carefully enough.

NPOR out-of-date re Bank St Chapel. It's a fairly complete two manual these days - nothing special - on EP action and in a small room with no acoustic. I recall hearing some good recitals on it as a teenager, but there are more worthy instruments in Bolton, currently rotting.

My local paper records yet another historic organ requiring restoration. The organ is installed in the Parish Church of St Andrew in Enfield, Middx and is need of urgent repair.
Any cash received will be used to repair and restore the organ's internal mechanism, which is still housed in its original 1752 case but has been ravaged by time and use and is now faltering. I do not know who the builder is.
The female organist complains that she can pitch up on a Sunday morning and then be faced with a catalogue of faults, mishaps and malfunctions, including jammed stops.
What is of concern is that the organist complains that restoration work completed in 1958 was not of a great standard, with components being installed which were already out of date.
This is appalling and the company perhaps should be named and shamed, but surely the restoration work would have been checked before payment was made ?
The pipes also need restructuring to improve the acoustics and quality of sound as they are so high up into the tower, so why did the rerstorers not point this out at the time of restoration ?
I wish the Church luck in their fundraising, which they will need in these troubled times.
Colin Richell.

Hi

See http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N01340 - I don't know if there have been any changes since the survey was done.

Every Blessing

Tony