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Cumbrian Society of Organists |
On Saturday 20th April, five members met at St. James’ Church, Whitehaven. The organ was built in 1909 by Norman and Beard, and restored by Mander in 2011. Along with St. Bees Priory and St. Nicholas’ Whitehaven (which was destroyed by fire in 1971), it is one of the “Three Graces” of West Cumbria, designed by Lt-Col. George Dixon. Further restoration work has been completed since our last visit and the action was noticeably quieter than before. Sadly, a few notes were not working and the console still looks as if it could do with a good clean.
At around 3 pm we travelled to St. Bees Priory where members of the church had prepared refreshments and cakes. A number of visitors from Canada were eagerly waiting to hear the organ, having expressed interest and been told of our imminent arrival. The organ was built in 1899 by “Father” Henry Willis, the last major instrument that he worked on personally, and the first parish church organ to feature “programmable” pistons. From 1906 onwards, various modifications were made by Harrison & Harrison, including the addition of the 32” reed, which is still the only one to be found in Cumbria. It is a while since our last visit and pleasing to find the organ remains in reasonable order despite no major work for many years.
Thanks are due to Nigel Donaldson for planning the two visits and for sorting out access arrangements in advance.
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