The Father Willis Pipe Organ at St Mary Magdalene
A brief history of the Organs in St Mary’s church
The Early Years at St Mary Magdalene
Thomas Telford, (1757-1834) the Borough Surveyor for Shropshire was the architect of three churches built in Shropshire. St Mary Magdalene was his first, largest and finest design. The foundation stone was laid in 1792. The records held in the Shrewsbury Record Office relating to the organs at St Mary Magdalene date from 1843. However there must have been an organ prior to this date as there is reference to...‘the organ being reopened on Sunday next, 5th November 1843. In July 1868, when William Roberts was organist the Rector, The Revd S Bentley reported that,... ‘for some time past the Psalmody at St Mary’s has been in an unsatisfactory state...due to the condition of the organ. A new organ was built by ‘Mr Henry Jones’ of London. The firm of Perry & Phillips (still extant in the town) made alterations to the gallery to accommodate the new organ at a cost of £4.18.0. In 1892, Nicholson of Worcester were paid £47.12.0 for cleaning and adding two new stops to the organ. Henry Jones rebuilt and enlarged the organ in 1904. The Revd Samuel Bentley commissioned Sir Arthur Blomfield (1876) to enlarge the chancel, thus enabling the choir and organ to be in close proximity. The organ therefore moved from the north gallery into the east chancel.
The Nicholson Organ at St Mary Magdalene
In 1932, Nicholson’s of Worcester wrote to the organist Rueben Stainer who lived at 12 West Castle Street, Bridgnorth to say that the organ was...‘in a very bad state and worn out’... in their considered opinion it was ... ‘not worth the cost of restoring it’. In 1975, Nicholson rebuilt the organ, electrifying the action, extending the pedal Bourdon and a Great Mixture took the place of the Gamba.
The Father Willis Organ at Clifton College
Clifton College, Bristol, founded in 1862 remains a leading public school not least for its musical traditions. In April 1868 the Choral Society gave a concert to open a fund for the provision of an organ in Big School. The Big School organ was an early Father Willis (1873) built at the height of Henry Willis genius and around the same time as the Willis organ in St Paul’s Cathedral (1872) and Truro a few years later. An article in the 1955 edition of, ‘The Organ’ describes the organ as untouched and a ... ‘remarkable example of the organ builders’ art.’ The writer goes on to describe the ‘diapason chorus as, ‘simply wonderful’ ... these stops are individually beautiful beyond words’... In 1968, the Cathedral-like acoustic in Big School was lost when an additional floor was added to accommodate increased numbers of students in the dining hall, necessitating the removal of the organ. . In 1971 when the newly built floor was finished, Mr J. H Britton CBE an Old Cliftonian and President of the Council offered to pay for the Father Willis to be reinstalled in Big School at a cost of £10,000. The work was carried out by the organ builders, Percy Daniel of Clevedon, Somerset. The restriction of space led to the consequent loss of the 16ft pedal Open Diapason (Wood) when the rebuild in Big School took place in 1972. The opening recital in January 1973 was given by an Old Cliftonian and former organ scholar of Kings College Cambridge, Richard Popplewell. Christopher Robinson, Martin Neary, Gaston Litaize and David Pettit also gave celebratory recitals in 1973.
The Father Willis Organ at St Mary, Magdalene
In 2003, at St Mary’ Magdalene in Bridgnorth the two manual Nicholson organ was becoming unreliable and needed urgent work to rectify some previous water damage, cracking of the swell soundboard and to address the very insecure wind pressure to the Great and Swell organ. After consultation with Dr Roy Massey, Diocesan Organ Adviser, and a number of organ builders it was considered that the present organ would not justify high expenditure on repairs and in any case would require a complete rebuild. The opportunity arose to purchase the Father Willis organ from Clifton College, which was in store at the Organ builders, Percy Daniel & Co in Somerset. Negotiations began between the Rector at St Mary’s and Headmaster of Clifton College, Dr. Spurr. Several schemes were put forward as Clifton College were very reluctant to sell the instrument. However, finally it was agreed that St Mary’s Restoration Trust would purchase the organ for £7,500 from Clifton. The College understood that the cost of installing the organ in St Mary’s Church would be in excess of £140,000 and therefore decided that at the very least the organ would be heard again and used regularly for church services, weddings, funerals and as a concert venue for recitals. Trevor G. Tipple, Organ builders in Worcester were awarded the contract to install the Father Willis in St Mary’s when the money had been raised. The total project now stood at £143,000, the largest fund raising event ever undertaken by the Parish! In 2004, the Restoration Trust set about fund raising locally through a ‘sponsor a pipe scheme’ and by seeking grant aid from major fund raising bodies. Some £90,000 has been raised locally over four years by the Organ Committee, a staggering amount in today’s financial climate! Work on the Father Willis organ commenced in January 2008. The Opening Gala Concert Recital will be given by a patron of the appeal, Dr Roy Massey on 25th April 2009.
For further information about our Father Willis organ, please contact our Director of Music/Organist, Dr John Turnock, at john.turnock@btopenworld.com
