In Warwickshire County Records office some historical information is available about the organ. There are three letters from Rev J H Sutton organ advisor to Rev’d Richard Assheton (Rector in 1872) on the organ specification. These include some very nice small case idea sketches and comments about the Old Radnor organ. Asheton was very diffident about a mixture but Sutton was most encouraging, however he felt that the Great should have had a Principal. There appears to be no information about the case.
Warwickshire County Records Office in Priory Park Warwick also have the original quotation document from John Nicholson, this is handwritten on blue paper and gives specifications for a new organ with two options in 1871.
Keyboard Range CC to F 54 notes
Great
Open Diapason 8'; Dulciana 8'; Stopped Diapason 8'
Swell
Open Diapason 8'; Salicional 8'; Stopped Diapason 8'; Principal 4'; Fifteenth 2'; Mixture 3 rank; Cornopean 8'
Pedal 16' Bourdon
Couplers
Swell to Great; Swell to Pedal; Great to Pedal
Price £240 – 0 - 0 Complete
As above with the same Keyboard range but:
Great has an extra Flute 4’
Swell has two extra ranks and one rank change:
Harmonic Flute 4'; Oboe to Tenor C; Dulcinal 8' instead of Salicional 8’ as in quotation A
Pedal 16' Violon instead of Bourdon 16’
Price £325 – 0 – 0 Complete
NOTES & QUESTIONS
The stamped paid receipt is in the records and John Lancaster MP appears to have paid for it all at £266-0-0 on 21st June 1872, this included 'Instrument as per contract ' plus 8' Pedal Principal £16-0-0 and £10-0-0 for packing and transport costs. The contract is not in the records so we don't know exactly what he was told to build. In the leaflet for the Opening service there is mention of only 3 stops on the Great. The instrument has a manual range of 56 notes, clearly these are the original keyboards, the quotations were both for 54 notes.The voicing of the Swell Principal is quite 'bright' and this produces a fairly full sound when coupled and drawn alone with the full original Great which was, Open Diapason, Dulciana and Stopped Diapason, perhaps this was Nicholson's compromise with a 3 stop 8' Great to get a 'Full' sound for leading congregational hymns especially if the Swell 15th was drawn as well?
If we assume the Oboe is original then there was clearly some ‘negotiation’ on price and specification and it looks as though they got instrument A 'plus', including an oboe with 8’ Pedal Principal also 56 note keyboards with two ranks prepared from quotation B with missing pipes for £256-0-0.
Could it be that Nicholson provided option A +, with option B soundboards with prepared rack boards in 1872?
Edward.Hall had a Musical Instrument repair shop at 29b Regent Street, he was the organist from 1917 to 1928. In 1924 he gave a quotation for cleaning and bellows repairs plus the provision of Celeste Rank to Tenor C £20-10s-0 and Harmonic Flute Rank, 56 Pipes £20-10s-0, presumably these pipes were not there before 1924 and he fitted them?
Probably, in 1924, Hall put Celeste Pipes on Swell Flute Slide and the 4' Great Flute on the empty Great slide - then the back slide on the Great Pipe Chest.
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