The story of The Burtey Fen Collection

Now that our concerts had 'outgrown' the small concert room at Laburnam House, in 1997 we began to look around the district for a suitable site to use as a new venue. We looked at a pig farm in Weston, a site in Holbeach, a plot of land in Moulton Seas End - and the disused Milroy Country Club in Holbeach - before finding a possible site at West Pinchbeck. (Actually it was an unofficial viewing at The Milroy - as a window was open!) However, Angela Newton from AP Sales contacted us to view a site on Burtey Fen Lane - less than 1/4 mile from Laburnam House. When we first arrived at the site we found disused greenhouses and a gravel parking area - complete with a skip and a disused car. We were not really sure that the site would be big enough - however, we had not realised that the site extended about one acre beyond the hedge. With that included as part of the sale, the site seemed ideal - but now it was all down to the Planning Department of SHDC.

We decided that whatever happened we were going to sell Laburnam House, and by October 1997 a sale had been agreed - with completion due by April 1998 to give us time to dismantle and remove the organs.

Our solicitor, George Hastings, suggested that we draw up a contract with the owner of the Burtey Fen site, to prevent him withdrawing from the sale whilst Planning Permission was considered.

In the meantime we rented a house opposite the site on Burtey Fen Lane - and stored the organs and other items in an adjoining barn.

After a great deal of deliberation, and lots of support from local people, the council eventually agreed that The Burtey Fen Collection could be built on the site in Burtey Fen Lane at Pinchbeck.

Starting Work

Building work commenced in 1998 with a new entrance - brick pillars, gates, and a boundary fence.

A 100 metre-long duct was buried beneath the ground to carry the new water supply, three-phase electric supply - and telephone cables from one end of the site to the new building.

Four victorian-style street lamps were also installed to help light up the area.

The Steel Structure

By mid 1998 the foundations had been laid, together with the concrete bass. The next stage was the erection of a steel frame to strengthen the building as can be seen below.

The Building Work

Roly Rivett, a local builder, was laying the thousands of breeze blocks, and two helpers from the Grammar School - Chris Scotney and Steven Gardner helped to move these from the car park to the building. It soon became apparent that the building was far too big for one builder to complete and so two other bricklayers were employed to complete the work.

Steven, Chris and I laid the many electrical cables throughout the building, together with water pipes.

The Roof

By December 1998 the entire shell of the building was complete, and the roof trusses - already made up into large sections - were delivered and laid out on the car park.

Unfortunately there was not sufficient time to have the roof fitted before the Christmas break, and so the work was delayed for a few weeks into January 1999 until a crane could be used to lift the roof sections into place.

Once the roof was on, the roofers worked on fitting the thousands of slates, and completing the fascia and guttering. At least the building was now water-tight at last and could begin the process of drying out.

The first job inside the building was clearing up the remnants of cement and debris left by the builders. We then began the mammoth task of covering the walls with plasterboard and MDF throughout the concert room. At the same time the organ chamber was painted white, and the stage was constructed.

During the following months of 1999, leading up to our opening concert in October, the work included

• Fitting the toilets and plumbing

• Fitting the many doors throughout the building

• Fitting all the sockets and light fittings

• Plaster-boarding the walls and ceiling of the coffee bar

• Boarding the floor of the balcony and upstairs bar

• Fitting dado rail and skirting boards throughout the building

• Fitting out the kitchen area with worktops and sinks

• Fitting the coffee bar servery

• Fitting of carpets throughout the building

• Building of the blower shed and installing the blower

• Fitting the organ shutters

• Carpet on the stage

• Installation of the Compton Organ

... and the mammoth task of painting all of the walls and ceilings throughout the building - all of which was carried out by Mark.

The Opening Concert

For the opening concert in October 1999 the coffee bar was only partly completed, and so this was the next job - to complete the coffee bar ready for the Millennium concert at the end of 1999.

The Lounge Bar

Into 2000, and the upstairs lounge bar was the next room that needed completion, and by March 2000 the entire building was at last complete.

The Concert Organ

The Concert organ console was installed in the centre of the rear wall of the balcony, and the pipework installed in the organ chamber behind the stage. This time the console was connected to the pipework by the Uniflex computer system, with a ribbon cable in the loft space.

The Wurlitzer

In the summer of 2002 we bought the 1929 WurliTzer from Tom Thumb Nursery and started work on restoring the instrument. To install the pipework in the organ chamber it was necessary to rearrange the layout of the existing pipes - as now there was going to be three organs in the same organ chamber!

The Wurlitzer console fitted perfectly on the left-hand side of the stage at a 45 degree angle, with the upright player-piano on the opposite side of the stage.

The installation of the Wurlitzer was completed by September 2003, and the instrument opened by Simon Gledhill at the end of 2003.

The Fairground Organ

We were given a small home-made fairground organ that had been made by Denis Matthews who had owned the M-Ranch in Sutton Ashfield. When Denis died, Jean Matthews donated the organ to the Burtey Fen Collection. When the organ first arrived in its dilapidated van on a low-loader trailer it was in a very sorry state - with considerable water damage.

After seeking help and advice we managed to restore the organ, and it was positioned on the centre wall of the balcony, at the rear of the concert room. This meant that the concert organ console now had to be relocated to the side wall of the balcony.