Our organ is wheezing badly and has lost its puff, but so would you if you were 113 years old and hadn't had a thorough going over in the last 50 years. The bellows are cracked and leaking, the blower isn't blowing and the keys are missing ivories and sticking. In short it is in need of a major restoration.
The organ was built in 1910 by the eminent organ builders Wordsworth & Sons. They were a prestigious firm who also worked on the organ at Lincoln Cathedral. 64 years later a major renovation was undertaken by a Nottingham firm and more recently in 1994 a partial restoration was undertaken with a bequest from Maud Stone.
At present the bellows only hold air with the help of gaffers tape and the blower stopped blowing just prior to the start of the Remembrance Day Church service. Help is urgently needed to restore this historic pipe organ to working order. £845 was raised at the Harvest Festival Supper to kick start the Restoration Fund but up to £20,000 will be required to undertake a full restoration of both the bellows and the organ itself.
The organ is in a relatively original condition and still retains all of the original components required for the original hand pumped bellows. A restoration will enable the hand-pumping to be used when the organ is used for educational purposes, such as school tours.In order to restore the church organ to its original glory we need to raise some funds.
The cost to restore the organ is circa £20,000. Any help to support the restoration would be greatly appreciated.