When Sir Frederick Gore Ouseley was designing the organ for Manchester Cathedral he made a trip to Toledo, Spain. He was inspired by the ‘en-chamade’ Spanish trumpets - both visually and acoustically - and incorporated them in the design proposal for the 1861 Nicholson organ.  

When the new West Great was added in 2001 there were insufficient funds to include a solo stop but the aspiration that one day a trumpet or similar solo stop would be added remained.

Portsmouth Cathedral Development Trust has allocated over £18,000 towards the overall cost which is in the region of £75,000.          

The Chapter of Manchester shied away from the proposal, preferring to keep the envisioned sound but to hide the  trumpets away within the case. When the organ was moved to Portsmouth in 1996, this solo reed was placed inside the East case, which unfortunately made it impossible to hear in the Nave.

Chapter has commissioned and received full approval for a new stop which is called 'Trompeta del Mar' reflecting the original Spanish inspiration.

You can be a part of this exciting chapter in the musical life  of the Cathedral by sponsoring a pipe: 

        £500 for a treble pipe (above middle C) 

        £750 for the middle C pipe 

        £1,000 for a bass pipe (below middle C)

        Any other amount

Major donors will be listed on a plaque with other names recorded unless, of course, you wish to remain anonymous.