Captain Lindsey Garrard

[Guest Nigel ALLCOAT]

Captain Lindsey GARRARD (Dragoon Guards) built/provided an organ in about 1908 for Hertford College Chapel in the Sir Thomas Jackson case. It seems that the same man also built an organ for St Saviour's Church, Hagley at approximately the same time. What else is known of this figure? I know that he could have lived in The Manor House, Lechlade-on-Thames (Glos.) and was part of the ancestral family in that region.

Did he build/provide any other organs? Who was he? Enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Nigel

[Guest Cynic]

Captain Lindsey GARRARD (Dragoon Guards) built/provided an organ in about 1908 for Hertford College Chapel in the Sir Thomas Jackson case. It seems that the same man also built an organ for St Saviour's Church, Hagley at approximately the same time. What else is known of this figure? I know that he could have lived in The Manor House, Lechlade-on-Thames (Glos.) and was part of the ancestral family in that region.

Did he build/provide any other organs? Who was he? Enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Nigel

 

 

There was an extensive series of articles in The Organ several years ago that covered Garrard's work. The instruments I actually know were all rebuilt, but his tonal work must have been reasonably good, because it was incorporated in later instruments. Comptons included some ranks of Garrard's at Downside Abbey. I think some of St.Mary Magdalen, Paddington is also his.

 

The only one I got close to before it had been rebuilt was St.John's Boxmoor near Hemel Hempstead. This was a truly bizarre creation. There were (if I remember correctly) four manual divisions on three manuals, but there were curious couplers and floating sections. The installation had obviously been problematical because there were bits of organ everywhere, sometimes as little as an odd octave or two of Bourdon 'in display' clustered round a transept arch. Note, all this was on tubular pneumatic action. If you imagine Blackburn Cathedral's layout, double the complications and half the attractiveness you would have some idea of Boxmoor!

 

Sadly (?) nothing like it is there now. He would have made a fascinating study, little or nothing untouched remains however. I believe he was of the same branch of the Garrard family as the well-known west end Jewellers.

[Guest Nigel ALLCOAT]

There was an extensive series of articles in The Organ several years ago that covered Garrard's work. The instruments I actually know were all rebuilt, but his tonal work must have been reasonably good, because it was incorporated in later instruments. Comptons included some ranks of Garrard's at Downside Abbey. I think some of St.Mary Magdalen, Paddington is also his.

 

The only one I got close to before it had been rebuilt was St.John's Boxmoor near Hemel Hempstead. This was a truly bizarre creation. There were (if I remember correctly) four manual divisions on three manuals, but there were curious couplers and floating sections. The installation had obviously been problematical because there were bits of organ everywhere, sometimes as little as an odd octave or two of Bourdon 'in display' clustered round a transept arch. Note, all this was on tubular pneumatic action. If you imagine Blackburn Cathedral's layout, double the complications and half the attractiveness you would have some idea of Boxmoor!

 

Sadly (?) nothing like it is there now. He would have made a fascinating study, little or nothing untouched remains however. I believe he was of the same branch of the Garrard family as the well-known west end Jewellers.

 

Paul - how interesting. Thank you for perhaps confirming my suspicions - certainly about the Mayfair connection! I wonder if there is a soul somewhere who can PDF those articles or sell/send copies? I am intrigued with this man because did he put together other peoples pipes into his own vision of an organ? I hope that I can be better informed by members. Educate me? Many thanks.

Nigel

[pwhodges]

I believe he was of the same branch of the Garrard family as the well-known west end Jewellers.

Also Garrard Engineering - founded by Major S H Garrard in 1915, after the Jewellers had been asked to manufacture precision artillery range-finders - who after the war moved into making gramophone record turntables (theres a Garrard 301 just next to me) etc. (See history of that enterprise.)

 

Paul

[Tony Newnham]

There was an extensive series of articles in The Organ several years ago that covered Garrard's work. The instruments I actually know were all rebuilt, but his tonal work must have been reasonably good, because it was incorporated in later instruments. Comptons included some ranks of Garrard's at Downside Abbey. I think some of St.Mary Magdalen, Paddington is also his.

 

The only one I got close to before it had been rebuilt was St.John's Boxmoor near Hemel Hempstead. This was a truly bizarre creation. There were (if I remember correctly) four manual divisions on three manuals, but there were curious couplers and floating sections. The installation had obviously been problematical because there were bits of organ everywhere, sometimes as little as an odd octave or two of Bourdon 'in display' clustered round a transept arch. Note, all this was on tubular pneumatic action. If you imagine Blackburn Cathedral's layout, double the complications and half the attractiveness you would have some idea of Boxmoor!

 

Sadly (?) nothing like it is there now. He would have made a fascinating study, little or nothing untouched remains however. I believe he was of the same branch of the Garrard family as the well-known west end Jewellers.

 

Hi

 

I'm pretty sure I've got the relevant back numbers of The Organ with these article is - but no time to look or copy them at present!

 

NPOR shows that http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N05745 was present and partly playable in 1993, so may still be in original condition, and also lists 16 other organs in which he had a hand.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[AJJ]

Captain Lindsey GARRARD (Dragoon Guards) built/provided an organ in about 1908 for Hertford College Chapel in the Sir Thomas Jackson case. It seems that the same man also built an organ for St Saviour's Church, Hagley at approximately the same time. What else is known of this figure? I know that he could have lived in The Manor House, Lechlade-on-Thames (Glos.) and was part of the ancestral family in that region.

Did he build/provide any other organs? Who was he? Enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks,

Nigel

 

I used to teach up the road from here back in the late 1970s/early 1980s - I played the organ quite a lot. It was the same man - I never liked it much though I am sure Trevor Tipple's work improved it somewhat.

AJJ

[Philip J Wells]

I have not seen the series of The Organ articles so forgive for for repeating what might already be known.

 

The guide book for St Thomas's RC Church Fairford contains the following: In about 1905 Captain Lindsay Garrard retired from the 5 th Dragoons and he set up an organ building business in a large conservatory next to his home in Ryton House, in Lechlade. Sadly the firm did not succeed financially and Garrard enlisted as a private soldier in the Pembroke Yeomanry at the outbreak of the First World War. He built at least a dozen instruments, some quite large including an organ for St Thomas's Church, which he gave as a thanks offering for his conversion to the Catholoc faith. No details of this instrument survive but we know that it was later moved to Swindon.

 

The NPOR gives around 19 organs by him. (This did not not including Shellingford, Oxfordshire which was replaced by Peter Collins Opus 2; proving I can't use the search engine properly).

[Frank Fowler]

The memory feebly stirs. I can remember being contacted years ago by a wood carver who asked if I knew of any old Garrard organs that were going to be scrapped as it seems he used `American Whitewood', a very close grained wood without any knots, which was ideal for carving.

 

Does this ring any bells?

 

FF