On a glorious April day, seven members assembled at St. Andrew’s Church at Kirkandrews-on-Esk. The church is surely one of the most delightfully situated churches in the county, reached via a track across the fields and adjacent to an idyllic stretch the river Esk. Overlooked by one of the ‘debateable’ land’s pele towers, its isolated location belies the fact that this beautifully maintained building serves a population of 400 parishioners.
The 1775 church, the third on the site, was renovated by Temple Moore in 1892/3, and the F. H. Browne organ dates from that time. (The Kirkandrews and Canonbie organs were described in the April CSO Newsletter.) Recent work by Mark and Ginny Wood of Harrogate to refurbish the organ moved the console onto the gallery, from its original location in a large cupboard adjacent to the altar!!
The organ sounds beautifully in the building which it fills with great clarity of tone. Members enjoyed playing a wide variety of music during the visit which showed the versatility of this modestly sized instrument, giving James Westoll, the Kirkandrews organist the unusual opportunity to hear the instrument from the nave.
Concluding the visit to this splendid location, members were encouraged to visit the pedestrian suspension bridge spanning the river to reach the churchyard from the Netherby Hall Estate. The bridge, erected in 1902 following a drowning from the routine ferry journey to church, gave our members yet another memorable perspective of this corner of the county.
Members, accompanied by James Westoll, then adjourned to the March Bank Hotel at Scotts Dyke (albeit in England…. just) for an excellent lunch.
The afternoon was spent ‘over the Border’ visiting Canonbie United Parish Church [Church Of Scotland], which is served by a somewhat idiosyncratic instrument built in the 1970s by Dr Lang (a local GP) with the help of parishioners in Dutch neo-Baroque style – featuring a 2’ pedal reed.
The organ is apparently rarely used, as the services are generally accompanied by a range of instrumentalists. Although in need of tuning (last undertaken in December 2022) and a little maintenance the instrument was clearly an instrument of some quality and a credit to those who came together to create it.
In addition to enjoying the instrument itself members were intrigued to leaf through folder, stored behind the organ, which charted its history and gave details of a considerable number of memorable recitals which had been given on the instrument over the years.
National Pipe Organ Register Links