Tony Newnham

Hi I've wished this was connected to a trap door under the organ bench on a few occaisions! Tony

Hi A bit on the short side for me! (Usually 15-20 minutes - but the sermon is given rather more importance in most free churches - I can do short when needed!) Every Blessing Tony

Hi Sorry to hear that, Andrew. I'm not privy to the reasoning behind all of the changes - but it does make most things easier. The old system of an e-mail containing the survey plus ammendments could sometimes take a lot of wading through to find what needed changing! We do our best - but please do let us know of any errors or corrections! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Sadly, no. The organ was sold to an organ builder (I've not been able to discover who) for proposed re-installation in a large Anglican church - the builder went bankrupt and as far as I know the remains of the organ were either dispersed or scrapped - very sad. Every Blessing Tony

Hi A couple of points:- Boundary mics follow the laws of physics - their response is quite predictable - and their bass response is only limited by the size of the surface that they're placed on. The frequency response of all microphones is determined by the manufacturer to suit the intended application. The fallacy that directional mics are inherantly bass-light is just that - a falacy. It's true of many cardiod mics desingned for vocal use, because directional mics, by their very nature, have a bass lift on close sounds (which is how most vocalists use them these days) - a deliberate decision on the manufacturer's part to tailor the response to the application. Use these as distant mics, and the bass will sound lacking! No time to write more now - I've got a doctor's appointment. Every Blessing Tony

Hi The question now becomes "how much of Nicholson's original remains?". Is there enough to use that as a basis for a rebuild, removing the later problem ranks and replacing with something more in keeping? It does rather sound as if a total reversion to 1880 Nicholson is not really practical. The other option, of course, is to dispose of it and start again! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Boundary microphones are a valid technique - in the right place! I've not knowlingly heard the recordings mentioned, so I can't comment on them - I would have thought that boundary mics on the floor of a large building with plenty of reverberation would be a waste of time - I've used them for other purposes. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I'm pretty sure that everything was installed. Heaton Baptist was VERY wealthy in those days! Not long after the organ was built, they put up the house which I now live in - the ground floor is bnow the church (seats 40 comfortably, 50 at a push). We have the 2 floors above that (and there's a couple of cellars!) It was built for one of my predecessors in the ministry, with his family and 4 servants! (Now that has its attractions!) Every Blessing Tony

Hi May I suggest that you send NPOR a survey for Ingrow st. john and corrections for tohe other organ you mention! We can't correct mistakes or ommissions unless someone tells us about them! Every Blessing TOny (NPOR Editor)

Hi There are probably dozens of these Casson positives (also made under the "Positive OrganCo." name) around the country. For small - what about the "Scuadamore" organs - Open Diapason 8 and that's it! There are also plenty of 3 or 4 stop organs around - I've got one in pieces in my study - reputed to be by Bishop (but I think severely mutilated) one manual, all stops divide a mid.B-C:- Open Diapason 8 (TC) Stopped Diapason 8 (actually a Clarabella in the treble) Principal 4 30 note straight, flat pedal pull downs. I rescued it from a church in Essex. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I've seen pictures of the L&B - and our organist remembers it well - it's he who told me about the C-C reed. I don't get much time to visit other organs at present - maybe I'll get to Ingrow one day - after all, it's not far! Every Blessing Tony

Me too.

Hi L'Organiste is really Harmonium music - and comes to life played on a good French Harmonium (a Mustel with double-expression for choice). There is no way that a swell box can get the same sort of subtle expression that is available on the Harmonium. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Before considering ANY changes, I would want to know the original builder & stop-list, and the history of the organ. Perhaps it should go back to its original form. Too many organs have been spoiled by well-meaning changes and attempts to be fashionable! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Is NPOR really that difficult? One thing to remember - don't put "St." in the search engine (see the instructions on the web page!) - also the apostrophe "s" at the end of the church name (i.e. St. Mark's) won't work - just the name of the saint. The local Anglican church here can be found by entering "Barnabas Heaton" for example - or just put in a town noame (make sure of your spelling) and select from the list that appears. Hope this helps. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Not by a fair margin! Heaton (Bradford) Baptist Church Annon. chamber organ c.1820-1850. 1 manual GG compass, 30 note C compass pedal pull downs arranged as a return coupler. Stopped Diap. Bass Dulciana (treble) Open Diapason (Treble) Principal (through) Fifteenth (through) Flute 4 (treble) (replacing Keraulophon 8; probably the Stop. Diap Treble when organ first built.) More details on NPOR, including the history that we know and a couple of pictures. Anyone play anything smaller (they are out there!) Every Blessing Tony

Hi As part of the organ's history, we will be retaining the pipes in store. Also, I've not heard them, but I'm told that it's a pretty poor-toned example (but that could be the organist's prejudice!). Sorry! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Bradford's Purcell Trumpet is now mounted "en chamade" at the top of the main organ case in the North choir gallery, speaking across the building. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Sorry about the typos! Further info (from Bryan Hughes' book p.190);- "Charles Brindley, ... had played a greater role in Schukze's success in England than has sometimes been realised. In 1868, he acquired the pipe making concern of Edward Violette of London, who had supplied most of the metal pipework for Doncaster Parish Church in 1861-2. Tin was cheaper in England than in Europe and it would be economical for Schulze to obtain his supplies from "Violette" and later from Charles Brindley. The metal pipes were manufactured to Schulze's scales and directions and voiced "onsite" by Schulze for the instruments at Tyne Dock, Leeds Parish Church and St. Peter's Church, Hindley, with the exception being Meanwood Towers, Leeds." As I said earlier there are also some links with Forster & Andrews. All very interesting. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Keraulophons are not really that rare. I've come across a few over the years. It seems that they were fashionable for a while - the chamber organ in my church had one when it first came here - it appears that it had replaced the Stopped Diapason Treble at some point in the organ's history. (Our current organist has put a rather uninspiring flute on the slide at present.) When the organ is restored (hopefully in the VERY near future) we have to decide if the Keraulophon goes back in, or if we revert to a Stopped Diapason (the current favoured option). We have the Keraulophon pipes in store - they are narrow scale pipes with a circular hole near the top. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I'm currently reading Bryan Hughes book on Schultz (very interesting) - so far the only builders mentioned as supply pipes for Shultz organs are Brindley & Foster & Andrews (but that doesn't mean Courcelle didn't) Every Blessing Tony

Hi The "codes" you mention are more for NPOR staff - so that we can trace the source of the material. I don't know why you can't find the reference in the Hoar collection - I've never seen it, and it may well be that the reference is "second-hand" so to speak. FDa is the late Frank Day's collection (FDa is a surveyor code - and we don't publish them for obvious reasons). The "Incorporates A01106 deleted" means that, for some reason, there were 2 surveys for the same organ, and when it was spotted, the 2 have been merged. The statement allows us to trace the original source material in case of questions. NPOR is only as good as the infomration we have sent to us - so please, if you discover any more about this organ, let us know. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Graham Have you kinformed NPOR of the current situation? It's probable that whoever sent us the info had been told that the organ was redundant, and no-one has bothered to tell us any different. An e-mail to the NPOR office would be helpful (quoting source of your info if relevant). Many Thanks Every Blessing Tony

Hi Before you do too much, check the NPOR survey date for the church unless it's pretty recent the situation may have changed - it may well be that it's closed, or that the organ has been removed or substantially rebuilt. If you do find out anything, please let NPOR know via the appropriate links on the web pages. I notice that we don't have a stop list for the organ whilst in the theatre, for example. Every Blessing Tony

Hi NPOR shows some of the information that you are asking for! The organ was present in the theatre in 1875 (the date of the survey there) and was removed sometime prior to 1890 (date of installation in the Methodist Church). Please let NPOR know if you discover any more information! Every Blessing Tony Newnham (NPOR Editor)