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On the 18th
of July 1877 an appeal was made for funds to replace the old
organ.
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The Church records read;-
-"the
wretched old grinder which has been revolving for many a long
year the same old tunes over and over again, excepting a few
tunes that could be played on a very limited keyboard. The
new organ built by Gildersleeve of Kentish Town, is a complete
instrument with one row of keys and two and a half octaves
of pedals". |
Even after the
contributions of the vicar's friends and the offertory of
£9-5-4d (approx £9-27 pence)
were taken into account, there was still a deficit of £20-00.
An amount for which the vicar made himself personally responsible.
One hundred and twenty eight years later in 2005 that same
organ although still working, finds itself in need of specialist
attention. As before, funds are again needed to meet the cost,
funds to the tune of £19,000 !!
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Local firm
- Foster-Waite Organ Builders - were awarded the contract
for the refurbishment, They are a small firm of craftsmen,
experienced in organ building, maintenance & restoration.
Quite appropriately, the firm's workshop is an old Methodist
Chapel, situated just south of Newbury in Berkshire. The workshop
has a floor area of 2000 sq. ft. and houses a staff of three.
The company has other associates that we can be called upon
should the need arise. |
| Craftsman Paul
Bowers pictured in the workshop. Paul has been with the company
since 1989. |
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The business was started by Tony Foster-Waite
in 1968. Tony has worked on many prestigious organs and, when
still very young, he was given, among many others, St. Paul’s
Cathedral to look after. A different section of this had to
be tuned every Friday evening after the Cathedral closed to
the public and this organ became very special to him. One
of his few claims to fame is that he played for part of a
Service there once. As part of his apprenticeship, Tony was
taught the skills of voicing and this has remained one of
his favourite aspects of organ work ever since. |
Work started on
All Saint's Organ in mid-summer and one of the first discoveries
was that of mice nests and a comprehensive food store situated
at the base of the console. This was duly dealt with and it
wasn't long before Tony and his crew had the organ stripped
down totally, with the parts stacked against the walls looking
like some giant, extremely complicated construction kit. |
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With the the main
frame stripped out and the various components stacked in their
respective lots, the organ was by now, completely unrecognisable.
A period of time passed before the crew returned to All Saints'
during which time, new replacement parts were crafted at the
workshop. A new windbox was also commishioned, as over the
years woodworm had devoured a high percentage of the original
box. |
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