This instrument has, at times, survived by the skin of its teeth. The Methodist congregation
sold the building to the Assemblies of God in the 1970s, and for much of the
time since
then the organ has been unplayable. When I first visited it in 1979 the electric blower
was disconnected, and even the best efforts of an energetic friend at the hand-blowing
lever were unable to raise wind for more than a few minutes of sustained playing. Intruders
had been inside the instrument, and some of the smaller pipes on the Great soundboard
were crushed. Remedial work was undertaken by a local enthusiast, and on the occasion of my
visit in 1991 the electric blower was working and a detailed appraisal was possible, though a
good number of notes were 'off', there were prominent runnings from the Swell soundboard, and
no tuning had been done for years. When Rodney Tomkins visited a few years later he found the
organ once more unplayable, its future seriously in doubt.
In 1991 I was pleasantly surprised to find a very fine tonal picture. Situated at gallery
level at the front of the chapel, the organ speaks uninhibitedly into the building. The general
effect is bold and bright, underpinned by a vast Pedal effect in the best Edwardian
tradition. Blend throughout is good, and a wide variety of effective fonds combinations
is possible at several dynamic levels. The whole seems very much more than the sum of its
parts, and while the room lends a perceptible bloom to the sound, there is little resonance.
The Great diapason chorus rings out in a manner surprising for this date; the sound suggests
a Victorian rather than an early 20th-century instrument. The Large Open is quite bright, in
no wise an inflated sound; the Small Open shares the same characteristics at a quieter volume.
The Principal is as loud as the Small Open, with the Piccolo a little quieter, but by no means
a flute as labelled. The Mixture is full-voiced, reedy and prominent. The 16ft. Bourdon
makes an excellent double, adding depth without undue heaviness or tonal mud. It is the best
stopped flute in the organ. The Hohl Flöte is a woody, beaky sound; when combined with the
4ft. flute the effect is rather opaque. The Trumpet, on the main Great soundboard, is free
and honky in tone; but it is unfair to pass judgement on reeds which are so
obviously in need of
thorough regulation.
On Swell, the combination of Open Diapason, Gemshorn and Mixture is, again, surprisingly
bright. The chorus has not been whittled down towards the top. The flue chorus makes an
excellent dialogue with the Great diapasons for the classical repertoire. Add the suboctave
coupler and the effect is enriched rather than spoilt; strange but true. The Open Diapason is
a little softer than the Small Open on Great, a good stop with a warm tone; the Gemshorn is
quite fluty; it is the Mixture which really pulls this chorus together. The bass of the
Lieblich Bourdon is wisely kept very soft; the Rohr Gedact is a normal lieblich in tone. The
Gamba is rather poor and dull-toned, but the smaller-scale Celestes is an excellent rank. The
Oboe is unpleasantly honky, and the loud Cornopean is rather like the Great Trumpet, albeit
with a trifle less body. With the octave and suboctave couplers an impressive full swell is
possible.
The Choir Open Diapason (the fourth unison diapason rank) is a good stop, with a thinner
tone than the other examples. The Dulciana is a soft, sluggish diapason. The Clarabella is
softer than the Great Hohl Flöte, and has a richer harmonic spectrum; the Wald Flute is
not dissimilar. The reeds are in very poor condition; the Vox Humana is like a farmyard
animal; the Clarinet seems undistinguished and thin-toned; the Orchestral Oboe is
surprisingly loud, like a miniature Trompette.
The Pedal Major Bass is heavy and very pervasive; the Bourdon is a competent register, and
the Echo Bourdon, borrowed from Swell, seemed too soft; the Great 16ft. would have made
a more effective borrow to underpin soft manual combinations. The Quint is an independent
rank, and creates a good resultant 32ft.
This is a quality instrument, and one of the largest by Keates to survive unaltered.
