by Ray Willis, ARCM., ARCO

The next reference is to an organ installed on the gallery in 1820. This instrument was built by H. C. Lincoln of Holborn for the sum of £520. The City Council contributed £40 towards the cost of this instrument. The only details we have at present is the picture made by John Budge in 1860, but sadly we can only guess the specification.

The present organ was originally built by Sweetland of Bath in 1864, replacing the earlier instrument which was on a west end gallery, and it has stood in its present position for the whole of its life. It was originally smaller (both physically and tonally) than at present, and until 1959 was of tracker action, the console being in the middle of the south side of the case. The Sweetland scheme had three manuals and a modest pedal section. In 1959 the original Choir division was assimilated with the Swell and Great, and the instrument was reduced to a 2 manual and pedal specification with electro-pneumatic action and a stop-tab console. This work was carried out by Osmond's of Taunton. It is evident that the pedal division has at some time been extended to the east, beyond the original line of the casework, to incorporate various extensions of the two 16' ranks.

The effects of mechanical wear and the accumulation of dirt and dust progressively undermined the functional reliability of the organ after 1979 and the rebuild of 1984 by Percy Daniel and Co. was carried out in close collaboration with the then Organist and Choirmaster of the church, Dr Alan Comer. In order to permit greater flexibility of the church's services, and to afford the organist better audio-visual co-ordination, a new mobile 2 manual and pedal console, of traditional drawstop design, was provided. This console may be sited in any required position in the South nave and Choir aisles and transept. Opportunity was also taken to enhance the tonal resources, particularly in the Great and pedal divisions. This included the provision of new Mixtures, Mutations and Reeds on the Great organ, (the latter being voiced on French classical lines and on 5'' wind pressure), and the addition of Reeds and a fully independent Principal Chorus to Mixture in the Pedal department. The organ is now capable of authentically rendering a wide variety of styles and periods of organ music in the classical repertoire, as well as being ideally suited for its primary role in liturgical accompaniment.

It would be most interesting to know if any of the early pipework (either Swarbrick or Lincoln) has survived to the present day. Cuthbert Harrison, when he examined the organ in 1954, was quite excited about the Great Stopped Diapason - "a chimney flute, just like we are putting in the Festival Hall" he said. We are most grateful to Michael Peterson, who was organist and choirmaster at St Cuthbert's, and assistant organist at Wells Cathedral from 1948 until 1953 for his comments and recollections.

The Sweetland Organ - 1864