The console is in oak with much solid wood, including the lippings to all exposed edges of the veneered boards which are of blockboard or plywood.  No chipboard or MDF was used.  The console can be completely dismantled to 'flat pack' form to facilitate installing it in small rooms.  The bench is likewise in solid oak, probably from an organ by E Wragg & Son at St Wilfrid's church, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire prior to its displacement by an electronic organ c.1965.  (This was found lying discarded in the boiler room!). The Herrburger Brooks keyboards are in ivory and were recovered from two 1950's Compton Electrone type 348 consoles, as is the pedal board.  The draw stop jambs and solenoids date from c. 1965 and were formerly in Holy Trinity church, Brompton, London, though the stop heads have been re-engraved to the specification below.  The original action voltmeter on the right hand jamb has been retained to indicate the state of charge of the combination system memory batteries.  The feel and general playing experience at this console was intended to match the mid-twentieth century Romantic sound of the instrument.

Classical Stop List

(the colours below are those used on the engraved drawstops)

Theatre Stop List

(the colours below are those used on the engraved stop keys)

 Accessories

5 thumb pistons to each manual department

5 toe studs to pedal

5 general toe studs

Great to Pedal reversible thumb piston, duplicated by toe stud

Swell to Great reversible thumb piston, duplicated by toe stud

Choir to Pedal reversible thumb piston

 

Combination capture system with 8 memories each for the classical and theatre organs

Stop control by moving drawstops for the classical organ (magnetically operated)

Stop control by moving stop keys for the theatre organ (magnetically operated)

Setter button

General Cancel piston

 

Rocking tablet to select Classical or Theatre Organ.  The drawstops on the Classical organ are automatically cancelled when changing to 'Theatre' mode.  The stop keys on the Theatre organ are automatically cancelled when changing to 'Classical' mode.

 

2 tremulants to the classical organ - independently adjustable in speed and depth

3 tremulants to the theatre organ - independently adjustable in speed, depth and modulation waveshape (sine through to square, continuously variable)

 

 

Tuning and Temperament

 

The instrument is tuned to A = 440 Hz using my Dorset Temperament with impure (offset) octaves.

 

 

Tonal Derivations

 

Most of the 'classical' voices were derived from the four manual 1927 Rushworth and Dreaper organ at Great Malvern Priory, England.  Exceptions are the 8 and 4 foot flutes on the choir organ which were derived from the 1858 Walker organ at St Mary's church, Ponsbourne, Hertfordshire, England, and the 4 foot Quintadena on the choir organ which was derived from a stop made by Brian Daniels, Crewkerne, England.

 

Most of the 'theatre' voices were derived from the three manual Wurlitzer and Rutt organs preserved at the St Albans music museum, England.

 

 

Acknowledgements

 

Thanks are due to the church authorities at Malvern and Ponsbourne and to the trustees at St Albans for allowing the acoustic samples to be recorded.  Thanks are also due to Brian Daniels for allowing his Quintaten stop to be sampled, and to Paul Minchinton for making the recordings at Ponsbourne.