Organs at Bolsover

ORGANS IN & AROUND CHESTERFIELD

ST. MARY & ST. LAURENCE, BOLSOVER
The small market town of Bolsover lies in the heart of the coal-mining area of north-east Derbyshire, a few miles east of Chesterfield. St. Mary's church dates from the 13th-century, and has twice suffered fire damage, in 1867 and 1960. Today's interior has a pleasing sense of majesty and spaciousness though the church is not large. Old and new harmonize well.
In 1867 an organ was installed by Forster & Andrews (Hull). The following stoplist comes from 'The Choir and Musical Record', March 1867:
GREAT 8 Open Diapason 8 Stopped Diapason treble 8 Stopped Diapason bass 8 Dulciana prepared for 4 Principal 4 Flauto Traverso 2 Fifteenth III Mixture prepared for SWELL 16 Lieblich Bourdon 8 Diapason treble 8 Diapason bass 4 Principal 8 Oboe PEDAL 16 Bourdon 3 unison couplers.
This instrument was destroyed in the fire which gutted the church in 1897.
In 1956 Henry Willis III visited the church to inspect an organ installed by Brindley & Foster of Sheffield (in the 1920s?). The stoplist is recorded as follows in the Willis archive:

GREAT 16 Contra Flute 8 Open Diapason 8 Flute Fondamentale 8 Dolce 4 Flute Octaviante 2 Fifteenth SWELL 8 Stentorphone 8 Tibia Mirabilis 8 Viole de Orchestre 8 Unda Maris 4 Octave Viol 8 Cornopean PEDAL 32 Double Bass 16 Major Bass 16 Minor Bass 3 unison couplers, Swell 8ve & Sub8ve. Composition pedals: 4 Great, 4 Swell. Compass: 61/30.

This specification is not untypical of contemporary instruments by Brindley & Foster. The unusual stop names were little more than window-dressing for a standard complement of pipes: 'Flute Fondamentale' was a Hohl Flute; 'Stentorphone' was an Open Diapason; 'Tibia Mirabilis' was a Gedact, and so on.
Willis described the organ as "dreadful and of a debased Brindley period", and immediately suggested tonal improvements - a 4ft. principal instead of the 4ft. flute on Great; a Swell mixture and 16ft. reed; 8ft. and 4ft. flutes on the Pedal. The church was still debating whether to go ahead with the work when the organ was destroyed by fire early in 1960.
Willis wasted no time, and on January 19th 1960 submitted a proposal for a new organ to be based on the redundant 1903 Lewis from Glasgow City Hall. This instrument was a beefy four-manual with 53 speaking stops, as follows:

GREAT: 16.16.8.8.8.8.4.4.2 2/3.2.IV.16.8.4
SWELL: 16.8.8.8.8.8.4.4.2.V.16.8.8.4
CHOIR: 16.8.8.8.4.4.2
SOLO: 8.8.8.4.16.8.8.8
PEDAL: 32.16.16.16.16.8.8.8.16.8

Willis proposed to keep the majority of the pipework with some alterations and additions. His suggested scheme, with three manuals and 59 stops, was amazingly ambitious for a not over-large church in a working-class area.

GREAT 16 Double Open Diapason 8 Open Diapason No.1 8 Open Diapason No.2 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Aeolian 4 Octave Diapason 4 Flute Couverte 2 2/3 Twelfth 2 Fifteenth IV Mixture 19.22.26.29 16 Contra Tromba 8 Tromba 4 Octave Tromba (reeds enclosed in their own swell box) SWELL 16 Quintade 8 Open Diapason 8 Rohr Flute 8 Viola da Gamba 8 Voix Celestes TC 4 Fugara 4 Gedeckt 2 Flautino III Chorus Mixture 15.19.22 III - V Cornet 12.15.17/1.8.12.15.17 16 Contra Fagotto 8 Trompette 8 Oboe 4 Clarion Tremolo POSITIF (manual 1: unenclosed) 8 Nachthorn 4 Gemshorn 4 Coppel 2 2/3 Nazard 2 Sifflote 1 3/5 Terz III Cimbel 26.29.33 Tremolo CHOIR-SOLO (manual 1: enclosed) 8 Hohl Flute 8 Violoncello 8 'Cello Celestes TC 4 Concert Flute 2 2/3 Solo Nazard 2 Piccolo 8 Cromorne 8 Flugel Horn Tremolo PEDAL 32 Sub Bass (resultant) 16 Open Bass 16 Violon 16 Salicional 16 Bordun 8 Octave (ext.) 8 Violoncello (ext.) 8 Bordun (ext.) 4 Super Octave (ext.) 4 Bordun (ext.) 2 Bordun (ext.) IV Mixture 12.17.19.22 32 Contra Trombone (ext.) 16 Trombone 8 Trumpet (ext.) 30 couplers. 3-way rocker tablet for: Positif - Both - Choir/Solo. Full complement of pistons & accessories.

The price for this scheme was to be in the region of £12,500. The church, perhaps overwhelmed by the magnitude of Willis's aspirations for them, decided to purchase a smaller organ. By coincidence, this also used material from a Lewis organ from Glasgow (St. George's). For £8,850 the church got a Willis organ of three manuals and 32 speaking stops, quite adequate for their needs. (The organ from Glasgow City Hall went to the much larger church of St. Mary, Chesterfield where it was rebuilt by Willis in 1963 with 3 manuals and 56 speaking stops.)
Here is the stoplist of the 1962 Lewis/Willis organ at Bolsover:

GREAT 16 Quintade 8 Open Diapason No.1 8 Open Diapason No.2 8 Flute Harmonique 4 Octave 2 2/3 Twelfth 2 Superoctave IV Mixture 17.19.22 8 Tromba unit SWELL 8 Geigen Diapason 8 Rohr Flute 8 Viola da Gamba 8 Voix Celestes tc 4 Fugara III Mixture 15.19.22 16 Contra Oboe 8 Trumpet 4 Krummhorn Tremolo POSITIF 8 Gedackt 8 Salicional 4 Coppel III Cornet 12.15.17 8 Tromba unit Tremolo PEDAL 32 Sub Bass resultant 16 Open Bass metal 16 Bourdon 16 Quintade Great 8 Octave Bass extension 8 Bourdon extension 4 Super Octave extension 4 Bourdon extension IV Mixture 12.17.19.22 16 Trombone unit Couplers: 6 unison; Swell 8ve & unison off; Positif 8ve, sub8ve & unison off. Swell 8ve to Great & Pedal; Positif 8ve to Great & Pedal. Great & Pedal combinations coupled. Thumb pistons: 0,1,2,3,4 to each Swell, Great, Positif, adjustable by switchboard. Reversibles for 6 unison couplers, 8ve couplers cancel. General cancel. Rocker tablet for doubles on/off. Toe pistons: 0,1,2,3,4 to each Pedal, Swell (duplicating). Reversibles for Great to Pedal, Trombone 16ft. Balanced pedals to Swell and Register Crescendo. Compass: 61/30. Electro-pneumatic action. Wind pressures: Great flues 4in, Swell 5in, Positif 3 1/4in, Pedal flues 4 1/2in, Tromba/Trombone unit 7in. Full complement of pistons & accessories.

In 1992 a new transmission system was installed by George Sixsmith & Son Ltd. (Mossley, Lancashire); a Clarinet was prepared for on Positif.

The body of the organ sits on a gallery at the west end of the nave; there is a gold-bronze 16ft. pipe-rack. The detached console is on a platform at the rear of the choir-stalls to the north-east of the nave. In typically sumptuous Willis fashion the solid ivory drawstops are mounted on ebony-panelled jambs. The couplers are controlled by a row of rocker-tablets above the top manual.
This organ holds a special place in my affections; I gave my first public organ concert here in 1980, at the age of 15. Even then I realised it was a quality job. Revisiting the church in 1994 I enjoyed renewing my acquaintance with the instrument. The Lewis diapasons are, as one would expect, forthright and telling; they are matched by the Willis reeds, and the plenum is quite as much as the building can take. (One shudders to think of the musical effect had Henry III's 1960 plan been implemented, Tromba chorus, 32ft. reed and all.) Other details were not so much to my taste - the harmonium-like Swell strings; the Positif flutes and mutations, which provide neither a bold neo-baroque chorus nor delicate 1930s 'synthetic' effects. But overall this is a Rolls-Royce instrument of which the church is rightly proud.

ST. WINIFRED, CARR VALE
The Willis archive attributes this organ to Bower & Dunn (Sheffield) c.1910. This date appears to be a guess; the NPOR record gives a date of c.1880, with (unspecified) Bower & Dunn work c.1920. If it was not a new instrument c.1920 it was certainly rebuilt 'as new', for it is entirely typical of B&D instruments in the area. Here is the stoplist from the Willis archives:

GREAT 8 Open Diapason pneumatic basses 8 Hohl Flute 8 Dulciana 1-12 grooved 4 Principal SWELL 8 Violin Diapason 8 Gedact 1-12 grooved 8 Gamba 4 Gemshorn 8 Cornopean PEDAL 16 Bourdon 8 Bass Flute 3 unison couplers. 2 composition pedals to Great, 2 to Swell. Balanced pedal to Swell. Compass: 58/30. Tracker action to manuals, pneumatic to pedals.

In 1964 the organ was moved by Willis to Holy Cross Church, Upper Langwith. In 1987 it was overhauled by Chalmers & Hyde (Dronfield), who removed the Gemshorn and Cornopean from Swell and substituted a Principal and a Fifteenth. The NPOR record here gives the most recent stoplist.

ST. LAWRENCE'S MISSION, SHUTTLEWOOD

This mission church in the parish of Bolsover contained an organ when it was built in 1893 as the gift of Rev. T.C. Hill, the vicar of Bolsover. In 1909 a chancel and organ chamber were added to the building. The organ by Bower & Dunn which was inspected by Henry Willis & Sons Ltd. in 1960 may have replaced the previous instrument at the time of the 1909 alterations, but the stoplist suggests a later date, possibly in the early 1920s when a series of concerts was given for the organ fund. The Willis archives give a date of 1913, but this may well be a guess. Here is the stoplist:

GREAT 8 Open Diapason 8 Hohl Flute 8 Dulciana 4 Harmonic Flute SWELL 8 Violin Diapason 8 Gedact 8 Gamba grooved 8 Celeste 4 Principal PEDAL 16 Bourdon 8 Bass Flute extension 3 unison couplers. Balanced pedal to Swell. Tracker action to manuals, pneumatic to pedals.

The organ stood on the south side of the choir; it had a plain pipe-rack front. In 1961 Willis replaced the Harmonic Flute with a Fifteenth. The tuning contract was terminated in 1978, and the present condition of the instrument is unknown.
(Historical notes from an account by Leslie Hewitt, May 1986.)

WESLEYAN/HILLTOP/TRINITY METHODIST, BOLSOVER

An organ was installed in the old Wesleyan Chapel in 1876 at a cost of £130. It was the work of P. Conacher & Co. (Huddersfield). In 1897 the congregation moved to a new building, known as Hilltop Methodist, and took the organ with them. When they installed a new organ in 1907 the Conacher went back to the old chapel which was now the town's Assembly Rooms. In the 1950s it was moved to Derby Road Methodist, Chesterfield, where it remains today.
The 1907 organ at Hilltop Methodist is by Albert Keates (Sheffield). Its stoplist is as follows:

GREAT 8 Open Diapason 8 Stop Diapason 8 Dulciana 4 Principal 4 Wald Flute 2 Fifteenth SWELL 16 Double Diapason 8 Open Diapason 8 Lieblich Gedact 8 Viol di Gamba 8 Voix Celestes tc 4 Gemshorn 8 Cornopean 8 Oboe Tremulant PEDAL 32 Acoustic Bass resultant 16 Bourdon 8 Bass Flute extension Couplers: 3 unison, Swell octave. Composition pedals: 2 Swell, 2 Great. Balanced pedal to Swell. Compass: 58/30. Tracker action to manuals, pneumatic to pedals.

This stoplist was taken at the console in 1977, and differs in several respects from that published in 'Musical Opinion', August 1907.
The organ is in a chamber at the front right of the church, and sounds rather muted as a result. Otherwise it is a competent if unremarkable example of Keates' work. The church is now known as Trinity Methodist.
(Certain historical details about the Conacher organ are taken from 'Historic Organs in Derbyshire' by Rodney Tomkins, Cromford 1998.)

TOWN END METHODIST, BOLSOVER

Town End Primitive Methodist was built in 1898. Its grim, fortress-like architecture accorded well with the smoky gloom of the collieries round about it.

The stoplist of the organ is preserved in the Willis archives, following an inspection in 1973. It was built by Albert Keates (Sheffield) in 1923.

GREAT 8 Open Diapason 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Dulciana 4 Principal 4 Harmonic Flute SWELL 8 Open Diapason 8 Gedact 8 Viol di Gamba 8 Voix Celestes 4 Gemshorn 8 Cornopean 8 Oboe Tremulant PEDAL 32 Acoustic Bass 16 Bourdon 8 Bass Flute Couplers: 3 unison; Swell 8ve & sub8ve. Balanced pedal to Swell. Compass: 61/30. Tubular-pneumatic action.

Henry Willis III cryptically described the stoplist as "archaically secular" for its date. In 1973 the congregation went to Hilltop/Trinity Methodist (above); the Town End building was demolished. The organ was due to go to "a Methodist church in Barnsley". Its current location and condition is unknown.

HILLSTOWN METHODIST, BOLSOVER
An organ was installed in Salem Methodist Chapel, North Wingfield, in 1940. When the chapel closed in 1962 it was brought to Hillstown Methodist by Henry Willis & Sons Ltd., who re-covered the manual keys and fitted a new swell pedal. It was last overhauled by Gilbert Sellers of Sheffield in 1982. Its date and maker are unknown.

GREAT 8 Small Open Diapason 8 Dulciana 4 Principal SWELL 8 Lieblich Gedact 8 Vox Angelica Tremulant PEDAL 16 Bourdon Couplers: Great to Pedal, Swell to Great. Compass: 61/30. Tubular-pneumatic action. Drawstop console.

CONGREGATIONAL, BOLSOVER
An organ was installed in 1915 by Bower & Dunn (Sheffield). The following stoplist is from files formerly in the Organ Club Library, London. The present condition of the instrument is unknown.

GREAT 8 Open Diapason 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Dulciana 4 Principal 4 Harmonic Flute SWELL 8 Violin Diapason 8 Gedackt 8 Gamba 8 Celeste 4 Gemshorn 8 Cornopean Tremulant PEDAL 16 Bourdon Composition pedals: 2 Swell, 2 Great. Balanced pedal to Swell.

PICTURE CREDITS
Bolsover Church organ, 1962: anonymous photograph, N. Tilley collection
St. Lawrence, Shuttlewood: photograph, c.1945
Wesleyan Methodist, Bolsover: postcard c.1900
Town End Methodist, Bolsover: Nadin postcard, c.1910

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