ORGANS IN & AROUND CHESTERFIELD

ST. ANDREW, BARROW HILL

The locals say that at Barrow Hill the church looks like a school and the school looks like a church. In 1856 a new building housed both, opened as a school with "a lecture room - to be used as the church". It was part of the village created in the 1850s by the industrial magnate Richard Barrow, owner of the nearby Staveley Iron Works, to house the men who worked his blast furnaces and coal mines.

In 1856 an organ was provided "expressly for the building" by William Holt (Leeds), at a cost of £200. When a new church was built in 1895 the organ was moved there by C. Lloyd (Nottingham), firstly to a chamber to the south of the chancel, and later to the west gallery, where it still stands.

Several alterations were made, probably in 1895. On Swell the compass was extended down to C, the Oboe replaced a Cornopean, and unenclosed bass octaves were provided for the Open Diapason and Principal. On Great a Keraulophon and a tenor-C 4ft. Flute replaced a mixture and a reed. New drawstops were supplied, and a 30-note pedalboard was provided. In 1917 Bower & Dunn (Sheffield) put the Pedal on pneumatic action and added an 8ft. Bass Flute.

When I visited the church in 1980 the organ was in a very poor condition, and worship was accompanied by a small Hammond organ. Here is the stoplist of the Holt as it was then:

GREAT
     8       Open Diapason           bass open wood
     8       Stop Diapason           open wood from middle C
     8       Dulciana
     4       Principal    
     2       Fifteenth
     8       Keraulophon
     4       Flute                   tc; metal, pierced wooden stoppers
 
SWELL
    16       Double Diapason         tc; bass stopped wood, treble open metal
     8       Open Diapason           1-12 stopped wood & unenclosed
     8       Stop Diapason           tc    
     4       Principal               1-12 stopped wood & unenclosed
     8       Oboe                    tc            
 
PEDAL
    16       Bourdon
     8       Bass Flute              extension
 
Couplers: 3 unison.
3 composition pedals (1895?).
Lever pedal to Swell.
Compass: 54/30.

In 1982 David Wickens was invited to survey the organ; his report concluded that:

The organ is important from an historical point of view being the only known example of a Holt organ with its action and pipework substantially unaltered...
Despite its parlous condition it has a lovely, musical sound which is typical of the early to mid 19th century and this alone is worth preserving.

After many years of uncertainty the organ was restored in time for the centenary of the church in 1995. The work was done by E.R. Stow (Derby). The Keraulophon was replaced with a Sesquialtera, and the Oboe with a Cornopean (made of second-hand pipes). The Pedal was returned to mechanical action and the Bass Flute removed. The 4ft. Flute was deemed to be a useful stop and was retained.

Rodney Tomkins wrote, in 'Historic Organs in Derbyshire' (Cromford, 1998):

Standing on the west gallery, with its Gothic case-front nicely decorated with gilded details, this little organ now looks and sounds superb.

SOURCES
My thanks to David Wickens for a copy of his survey of the organ, and to Victor Nixon, organist at Barrow Hill, for information given.

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