Rycote Chapel was built in the 15th century by Richard Quartermain and visited by most of the Tudor monarchs during their visits to the nearby Rycote Palace, now long since demolished. The village of Rycote, mentioned in the Doomsday Book, has long since vanished, too. Rycote is an Anglo Saxon name meaning a small group of dwellings in rye fields. The palace was once an important royal residence, and King Henry VIII spent part of his honeymoon there with his fifth wife. The chapel now belongs to English Heritage and is well worth a visit. It has some interesting and ancient furnishings including carving almost certainly by Grinling Gibbons.
It is unlikely that Rycote Chapel has ever had an organ before. However, under the tower there is a musicians' gallery which is just large enough to take a small organ. Our task was to design an instrument that looks as if it might always have been part of the chapel. The design, whilst basically our own, was developed in detail together with Mr and Mrs Bernard Taylor, the present owners of the house which has been built around the outhouses of the now demolished Tudor palace. The case is finished in unstained waxed oak. It is called the Uren Organ and was presented to Rycote Chapel by the Rycote Buildings Charitable Trust following a major donation from The Michael Uren Foundation. |
| SPECIFICATION | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stopped Diapason | 8 | |||
| Principal | 4 | |||
| Chimney Flute | 4 | |||
| Fifteenth | 2 | |||
| All stops divide at middle C | ||||
| The organ is tuned to Anton Kellner's temperament | ||||
| The key action is a simple backfall action | ||||
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Casework and Technical Design Aidan Nutter Scaling John Pike Mander Tonal Preparation and Tonal Finishing Michael Blighton Casework, metal pipework and assembly Michael Köllmann Soundboard Nicholas v. Bandemer Other components: William Barrowcliffe, Siegfried Auer, Susie Frith Carving Keith German |