Organised by Friends of Wells CathedralThe Friends of Wells Cathedral aims to raise £2 million over a five year period to fund a programme of renovation and restoration that will create a world-class instrument fit for the 21st Century.
Closes 31/12/2025
In this video, Andrew Scott of Harrison & Harrison Organ Builders Ltd takes us through the history of the organ and gives some explanation of the current problems and challenges.
The music in churches and cathedrals is synonymous with organs. It is their unique sound and volume, either on their own or as an accompaniment, which makes them such special musical instruments; so much so that it is impossible to imagine a church service without an organ. As with any musical instrument organs need to be looked after and cared for otherwise they simply start to sound a bit odd, and once every generation they tend to need a rather major overhaul.
After nearly fifty years the time has come to give the splendid organ in Wells Cathedral some major care and attention. This is no simple task given its size, location and complexity; especially if you consider that every one of its 5,000 pipes needs to be removed, cleaned, tuned and replaced. You may think it sounds terrific now, but that's only because you've got used to its idiosyncrasies; believe me, by the time the professionals have finished you will be amazed by the improvement in tone, range and volume.
The organ is only part of the tradition of music in Wells Cathedral, for we must not forget the boys, girls and men of the Cathedral Choirs. Together, they are not just integral to the music-making, but also the very life of the Cathedral and its service to the community. Restoring our grand organ is vital if we are to secure and sustain all of our Cathedral's superb music-making for future generations.
With this in mind, I sincerely hope that you will seriously consider supporting the Wells Cathedral Grand Organ Appeal. I am confident that, with your help and support, we will be able to fill this wonderful building once again with stunning and beautiful music not only on St Andrew's Day 2025 when the Cathedral celebrates its 850th anniversary, but also to praise God and to lift our spirits for many more years to come.
HRH The Earl of Wessex, KG KCVO, Patron
Music has been at the heart of the life of Wells Cathedral for over 1100 years. This tradition is central to todays worship, community events, great civic services and the many concerts performed annually. While our exceptional Cathedral Choir is at the forefront of our musical reputation, the organ is a vital part of our musical and worshipping life here.
The organ not only accompanies the Choir and congregation at our daily services, but it is also a magnificent instrument in its own right. For some time, the Cathedrals organists have been telling us that the condition of our organ is rapidly declining and needs urgent attention. It is only the deft skills of those playing the instrument which hide many of these faults and flaws from those of us who are listening below.
The time has now come for the Cathedral organ to be refurbished for the next generation, and I ask you for your help in raising the funds to enable this vital work. Please give as generously as you can, and thank you for your support.
The Very Revd Dr John Davies, DL, Dean of Wells
The Friends of Wells Cathedral have a long and happy relationship with the magnificent Willis/Harrison organ, which sits so proudly at the centre of our church. During the last major renovation in the 1970s we made a significant contribution to renovation costs, paying for the exquisite gilded organ case which we all admire today. But whilst the exterior of the organ still looks magnificent, the hard-working instrument it houses is in a rapidly deteriorating state. So, fifty years on the organ needs our help once again.
We are excited to launch this appeal to raise the £2 million needed to restore and improve the organ. New ranges of pipes will be added and existing pipes will be given a new lease of life. The results will be the best organ our Cathedral as ever had - fit for the 21st Century our Grand Organ. There will be concerts, celebrations, fundraisers and many different ways you can support the appeal. We thank you for any help you are able to give us.
Michael Hopkins, Chairman of The Friends of Wells Cathedral
The skills of our organists really do help to cover up so many of the shortcomings which now exist on our organ. Sticking notes, hissing sounds, mechanical malfunctions on particular stops and delays in the reaction to the keyboards are all regular occurrences which they try their best to disguise. However, even the skills of our amazing musicians are no longer enough to keep standards up. In recent months there have been some heart stopping moments when it seemed possible that the organ would fail altogether.
The air supply, which drives the organ, had become extremely noisy and was failing badly. Frequent maintenance visits from organ builders Harrison & Harrison were just about keeping it going but finally in 2021 a fairly major overhaul of the air supply had to be undertaken, generously funded by The Friends of Wells Cathedral. Despite the success of this project, the number of other mechanical failures continues to grow and it is now increasingly urgent that in order to avoid a catastrophic failure, we begin the full refurbishment of the instrument.
The primary objective of the project is to recondition the organ by removing all 5,000 existing pipes for repair, cleaning or replacement and to overhaul the console, the pedals and the stops. But our vision also includes plans to deliver a significant enhancement to its musical performance.
To this end we will revoice and rebalance the instrument, moving more of the sound to the nave side and less of it on the quire side.
This will create a much more appropriate volume for the great civic services, the carol services and celebrations which take place in the nave each year. For daily Evensong in the quire a much more elegant and sensitive range of pipes will accompany these daily devotions. We also intend to add a few more pipes to increase the range and interest of sounds available, especially for the larger occasions. Our cathedral organ is one of the few without a colossal 32-foot stop to underpin the fabulous sound of a great congregation an omission we aim to correct. Also to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty in 2022, we hope to commission a range of Jubilee Trumpets for the grandest occasions.
A few more additions are being planned to ensure that the refurbished organ will be a Grand Organ that will be truly appropriate for our reputation as a centre of excellence for English choral music.
The Friends of Wells Cathedral aims to raise £2 million over the five year period of the Grand Organ Appeal. However, always up for a challenge, we hope the new Grand Organ will be completed a little earlier in time for the Cathedrals 850th anniversary at the end of 2025. It is a daunting target but one which we feel confident we can achieve with your help either by giving on a regular monthly basis or by making a one-off donation.
We invite you to come to the heart of our campaign by supporting our fundraising efforts as a regular giver. By making a regular monthly donation you can make a huge difference to the appeal whilst enjoying a number of unique benefits, linked to the level of giving you choose. If we achieve our targets at each level and all donors continue to give for 5 years, we will raise £1,354,350 which is 68% of the £2m Appeal target.
Appeal Supporter (Gifts of £8.50/month or more): Our target is to find 850 people willing to become an Appeal Supporter. Benefits include: Acknowledgement on Cathedral and Friends websites ; Regular appeal news updates ; Priority booking and preferential seating for events organised by the Friends.
Appeal Sponsor ( Gifts of £28.50/month or more): Our target is to find 285 people willing to become an Appeal Sponsor. Benefits include all those for an Appeal Supporter plus: Acknowledgement in appeal printed literature ; Annual invitation for two people to the special Cathedral Candlelight Music Recital an exclusive event for Appeal Sponsors, Patrons and major donors.
Appeal Patron (Gifts of £85.00/month or more): Our target is to find 85 people willing to become an Appeal Patron. Benefits include all those for an Appeal Sponsor plus: Donor name inscribed on donors book within Wells Cathedral; Priority booking for events organised by the Cathedral, including the Cathedral Christmas Candlelight Concert ; Annual reception hosted by the Dean of Wells Cathedral in an historic setting in Wells.
You can sign up to be a Regular Giver via this page on our campaign website .
Some people prefer to give a one-off donation. So whether you can make a gift of £8.50, £85, £850 or more, you will be helping us on our journey to reach the 850th anniversary goal. All donations are very welcome so please give what you can.
Please make your one-off donation via JustGiving using the 'Give Now' button at the top of this page.
By leaving a legacy in your will to the Friends of Wells Cathedral Grand Organ Appeal, you can help ensure that the organ will be restored, improved and maintained to the highest of standards for years to come and also provide much-needed support for our young Organ Scholars. This will benefit the wider community, ensuring that the tradition of exceptional church music in this most wonderful of English Cathedrals will survive for future generations to experience. Charitable bequests are tax-free, so that, by remembering the Grand Organ Appeal in your Will, you can reduce the burden of payment of inheritance tax on your entire estate.
For more information on leaving a legacy, please contact us via organappeal@wellsfriends.org or write to us at Grand Organ Appeal, Friends Office, West Cloister, Wells. Somerset BA5 2PA.
If you wish to support the Grand Organ Appeal by making a one-off donation, then please do so using the 'Give Now' button at the top of this page.
For regular giving options, legacies, or major donations, please visit our campaign website here: Campaign Website
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