Bournmoor Church: Organ

The Organ in Burnmoor Church

By Judith Lees

The organ is St Barnabas Church was built in 1874 by the London firm of Gray and Davison at a cost of £330. It is a fine example of the great craftsmanship of this much respected firm, established in 1772. In 1841 they had been commissioned to build an organ for Prince Albert’s private apartments at Buckingham Palace and this was greatly admired as a masterpiece of workmanship.

While not unique, the organ in St Barnabas’ is unusual in that there are very few untouched Gray and Davison organs of this era in the North East, one, in Hunstansworth is still in use, another, at Rock Church, Northumberland is a ‘big brother’ of ours.

Much of the leather-work in the organ dates from 1874 and the fact that it is still sufficiently airtight for the organ to be played and remain in tune speaks well for the original craftsmanship and material. In 2010, the British Institute of Organ Studies awarded a Grade 1 Certificate in recognition of the organ being ‘an outstanding instrument by Gray and Davison 1984/1888 with minor alterations by Johnson.’

The organ was dismantled in 1881 and stored by the original builders while the chancel was decorated and it may be surmised that the beautiful casework, made by Johnson, also dates from this time. The organ case bears the inscription, translated from Latin, ‘Alleluia praise the Lord ye boys. Praise the name of the Lord. Alleluia.’

In 1888, the organ was cleaned by Gray & Davison and two further stops added, at a cost of £73 10s 0d. In 1925, the organ was cleaned and overhauled by Harrison and Harrison of Durham. In 2006, substantial repairs were carried out to the pedal organ. The electric blower, which had been added to the organ at some date before 1923, was replaced in 2010. The final stage of restoring the organ is now being carried out by local organ builder Mr David Tindale. The current work is all related to the two keyboards, the swell manual and the great manual. All pipe work has to be removed and all action work is being overhauled. Most of these repairs can be done in the church.

Some of the keys which have become very worn after so many years of playing are being replaced with good quality second hand ivory. The remaining Swell and Great keys are being cleaned and adjusted where necessary. Because of its age, it will be necessary to re-leather the reservoir. All wood stops are being checked for cracks and repaired where necessary and all stoppers made good and sound. Pipes will be regulated as they are planted back on the soundboard.

Later, the organ was connected to the colliery electricity supply and I well remember my mother complaining that when the organ was switched on, her electric oven wouldn’t heat properly. There always had to be some thought about when to make important things like a Christmas cake so that it wasn’t cooking when a service was taking place!

When I first began playing the organ, over 55 years ago, I dreamed of getting it restored to prime condition. I never thought that it would be possible but after very many years of fundraising, now it is really happening.

The above article was published in the October 2014 edition of Burnmoor Parochial Church Council’s ‘Parish News’ magazine and is reproduced here with the kind permission of Mrs Judith Lees.