Organ Repair Appeal - "ORA 2014"
"Ora pro nobis" - Speak for us - St Mary’s church organ needs help!
The problem:
The organ at St Mary’s church has a 
problem – the Great Open Diapason is silent as ‘wind’ is currently unable to enter some of the pipes and give them voice. The problem is likely to be one or more splits in the timber soundboard (a chest full of wind) probably caused by excessive drying during the very cold spring of 2013 when heating remained on in the church right through until May. A full inspection of the soundboard is required and most of the pipes in the north case must be removed to determine the full extent of the damage.
The History of the Organ:
There are records of a small, single manual organ at St Mary’s church in 1871 built by the well respected family firm of John Walker. Walkers 
enlarged the organ and by 1936 the instrument had two manuals and the specification of this organ is available recorded on the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/NPORView.html?RI=R01648
The instrument originally occupied the north west transept but was moved to the west end in the 1970s and the pipes enclosed in the two decorative cases visible today. In a survey carried out in 1980 it is stated that a local organ builder, R.R. Bullivant of Leighton Buzzard had combined the original Walker pipes with some extra pipes from a Forster and Andrews organ of 1881 so enlarging the organ further. The pipes came from the organ in the Congregational church in Berkhamsted when the building was demolished in 1973.
In 1998, Saxon Aldred from Redbourn carried out remedial work on the organ and his written notes highlight the difficulties he encountered working on the organ, in particular the adverse effect of a ‘quart sized organ in a pint pot’. The pipes are crammed in to a very small space within the two cases which were obviously constructed for aesthetic appeal above practicality! Saxon’s comments in the ‘tuners notebook’ still in use today reveal ongoing problems accessing the pedal pipes in the north case subsequent to the rebuilding work.
The organ builders’ reports:
The recent inspections have confirmed that
the nineteenth century soundboard was retained in the north case while a new soundboard (1970s) was built in the south case. This new soundboard appears to be withstanding modern heating but the older timbers of the Walker soundboard have probably shrunk and split with excessive drying. This has resulted in the slider jamming and then burning out the motor which drives the slider. There are separate motors for seven different sliders on this soundboard and further splitting and jamming can only make things worse. The splits need to be repaired, the sliders ‘freed’ and made to run smoothly again and faulty motors replaced.
The project:
The PCC have asked Andrew Stevens, the current organ tuner to carry out the work to remove the pipes and repair the damaged soundboard. By removing the pipes it will be possible to overhaul the pedal action which has not been attended to since the pipes went in to the case nearly 40 years ago. Due to urgent plaster removal work in the church the organ repair is now planned to start in the spring of 2015 and it is hoped that the organ will be out of action for no more than two weeks. The pipes will be removed and stored securely in the church while work is carried out. The estimate for this work is £4,000 (no VAT payable).
For further details, comments or questions please ask a member of the PCC or the organist, Jenny Hoare. On line queries can be made to music@stmarysnorthchurch.org.uk
Fundraising Status:
Over the last few months a series of fundraising activities have taken place including a "Promises Auction", five Organ Recitals and a "Hymnathon" and the target of £4,000 to pay for the repairs has been achieved. You can however still donate to the Organ Repair Appeal as even after the organ's repair, which is now planned for the spring of 2015, it will still require on-going maintenance.
You can directly sponsor the Organ Repair Appeal by clicking on the BTmydonate logo:
A retrospective of last Saturday's epic Hymnathon can be found on our organist's blog .